


Dragons, Gods and Shenanigans

by KnightXavier, ThaliaofCarim



Category: Dark Souls (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, takes place before the events of Dark Souls 1
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:27:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26019538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KnightXavier/pseuds/KnightXavier, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThaliaofCarim/pseuds/ThaliaofCarim
Summary: When the Wolf Knight Artorias finds a baby girl alone without any signs of her parents, he is not aware of the path of adventures he lays down for the little girl upon his adoption of her. When Dragon Slayer Ornstein's son, born a year before, meets the little girl, no one is aware of how deep the bond between the children would grow. When the two turn fifteen their adventures really begin. This is the story of the Daughter of the Wolf Knight and the Son of the Dragon Slayer and the shenanigans they get into especially when dragons become involved.(This story takes place BEFORE the events of the Dark Souls series and is not canon TO the Dark Souls series. This is all just for fun. If you don't like that it doesn't follow the canon events then don't read it)
Kudos: 4





	1. Prologue

The sound of something crying cut through the thoughts of the wandering Artorias, a legendary knight who was known for being both the Wolf Knight and one of the Knights of Gwyn, and he stopped in his tracks to look around to see if he could find the source of the crying. Listening carefully, Artorias eventually moved towards some nearby bushes and soon managed to pinpoint the exact location of where the crying was coming from. Kneeling down near the bushes, he reached out and moved some of the branches out of his line of sight and was shocked to see a baby, a little girl at that, wailing. Frowning, he carefully set both his sword and shield down beside him before he carefully (and with a gentleness not many had known from him) lifted the child from the cold ground. Despite the fact that she was wrapped up in a blanket (a pitifully thin one at that) he could tell that she was near freezing and felt a bout of rage rise from somewhere within him as he came to realize that she had likely been abandoned by her parents. Studying her as she came to realize that he was holding her, her cries slowly quieted as her eyes opened to meet his own, shocking him as he saw the striking blue that they were, a blue that would very likely remain or at least become a dark blue as she grew. “You poor child," He said before he looked around, “Where are your parents?" he asked before turning back to the girl who watched him carefully for several moments before her eyes closed again as a yawn escaped her causing Artorias to smile softly as he realized that she was feeling safe within his arms. Standing up with her held close, he sheathed his sword and picked up his shield all without tearing his gaze away from the face of the now sleeping baby. Eventually, he managed to pull out a cloak that he never bothered to wear from his pack and swiftly wrapped her up to get her to start warming up again. Setting off to give a quick search for her parents, Artorias soon came across a sight that sent him recoiling and inhaling a near hiss. Not but several steps away from him lay the aftermath of a horrifying battle.  _ He had found her parents _ . One of the bodies was, or rather had been, heavily armored while the other looked to have once been wearing leather armor, but he could tell from spilled blood in the area all around them (and him) that whatever had killed them had been powerful. The woman, who was the closest to where he stood with the baby girl in his arms, had had her throat and stomach torn open (spilling both her blood and her insides) by whatever had attacked them, but it was the other corpse that caused Artorias to nearly shiver. This corpse, likely the little girl’s father, had been torn to shreds with body parts, armor, and insides flung everywhere while blood from the battle turned the grass and dirt the same color as it.  _ Whatever attacked them must have been near crazed.  _ Artorias continued to scan the field before his eyes landed on something further away.  _ A cat? _ But upon closer inspection, a shiver did run down his spine this time. It was no normal cat like creature he was used to hearing about or seeing, no.  **_THIS_ ** cat was unlike anything he or anyone had ever known and the sight of it would haunt him for years to come.

  
Hearing the child begin to fuss in his arms, he turned to her and shushed her softly before she settled once more back into slumber. Looking back towards the bodies, Artorias shook his head before turning and walking away as he glanced down to the baby he held. “ _ I’ll take you to Anor Londo where you can be cared for properly, _ " He whispered softly so as not to disturb her slumber but then a sudden thought crossed his mind as he stopped and studied her carefully. “What’s your name little one?" He inquired while cautiously checking for a note or anything that would give him the name of the girl, only to be disappointed to see that there was nothing to give him even the slightest hint to what her name could be and turned his gaze back to her. “I guess I will have to name you," He frowned for a moment before a name came to him. It was an unusual name that came to his thoughts, that he was certain of, but something told him that she wouldn’t be like a typical person, child or adult. “Aenerya." He heard her fuss a bit as her eyes opened slowly to blink at him in response to the name, but soon she fell back into sleep, causing him to chuckle quietly. “Alright Aenerya, let’s go home,” With that, Artorias and the baby left that area. What he would not realize until later was that he would find it near impossible to even think of letting her go and so any plans he had of giving her to a “proper" family soon flew out the window as he decided to raise her into adulthood with the aid of his fellow knights, one of whom would become like a mother to Aenerya as she grew.


	2. One

Seven years later would find Aenerya giggling as she came to a stop just outside of the doors leading to the city and looked around (which amused the silver armored knights that were standing guard) but just as she prepared to take off and find her friends, an arm caught her around the stomach and she squealed as the arm pulled her up before setting her down again. "Dad!"

“And where are you going?" the familiar voice of her father sounded as she looked up at him.

"I want to go play with my friends."

"And you will, but first what are the rules."

"Stay within the city, don't go near the entrance to the fortress which leads to the burgh, always check my surrounds and don’t ever talk to strangers and if I’m approached by anyone who isn’t one of the Silver Knights or a dragon knight, or you, mom or Uncle Ornstein or Gough or even one of the Channelers from uncle Seath’s archives find or call one of the Silver Knights or Dragon Knights immediately or call for a Channeler if no Knights are nearby," she knew the rules by heart now and easily recited them back to him. Despite the fact that the beings that Aenerya spoke of, called Channelers, were not trusted by many for several reasons, the Channelers were under the strictest of orders to keep Aenerya safe. The leader of their order, Seath, a snowy white dragon who was blind with odd-looking wings and no scales, had given that order as he had met Aenerya when she was four and had taken an interest in reading and sorcery. Seath, for his part, knew that sorcery likely wouldn’t be a strong suit of Aenerya’s but had made the promise to her father that he would only teach her just enough to help keep her alive should she get into a situation where she was outnumbered or in great danger. While her father had been skeptical of the dragon's intentions, he was now more than glad that Seath had promised such a thing as she had been kidnapped a few days thereafter with the person planning to use her against him and the other knights. What the person hadn’t counted on was having been spotted by a Channeler and having their plans foiled when a group of them had shown up to bring her back to the Wolf Knight and ever since then he had adjusted his rules for who Aenerya could run too in case something like that should happen again. "Can I go now?" Aenerya inquired as her father looked at her, but before he could speak a gentler voice spoke up and both turned to see a woman wearing a dark outfit with a white mask attached to a headpiece come walking up.

"Mind your father Aenerya," the woman slowed to a stop next to Aenerya’s father and smiled down at the little girl.

"Yes mom," Aenerya smiled as she looked up at the woman.

"Now have you repeated the rules to your father?"

"I did."

"Good girl," the woman looked towards the man beside her as he spoke now.

"Alright, you can go play." Artorias smiled as Aenerya leaped towards him and hugged him with him returning it before she took off running.

"Who does she remind you of?" the woman smirked as he turned to her in confusion.

"Who?"

"You."

"Me? Why me?"

"Always on the go and never in one place for very long."

"And that reminds you of me?"

"Artorias, you were always on the move before you found her, but you’ve changed since she’s come into your life."

"How?"

"You’ve settled down. You’re not always looking for opportunities to leave as much as you used to, in fact, I’d go so far as to say that you try to avoid those now that she’s in your life."

"I don’t avoid them, Ciaran, I just-  **_Hey!_ ** " He frowned as she lightly nudged him with her elbow.

"Admit it Artorias, you’ve changed. You're more like a wolf now that you have a child and you're always worried about her."

"I don’t want her to be harmed and with the knowledge that we have of what happened with her actual parents..."

"Always the protective father,” Ciaran smiled softly, “Don’t worry Artorias, she’s more like you then you know and I have a feeling that before long she will show you just how much like you she really is." With those last words, Ciaran walked away while leaving Artorias to look after her before he turned his gaze to watch as Aenerya vanished into the city.

_ What did she mean by that? _ He wondered as he stood there for another moment or two before shaking his head and walking back into the building behind him (only  **_AFTER_ ** calling for one of the Silver Knights to follow Aenerya while keeping a distance). Of course, he wouldn’t understand what Ciaran meant until several years later when, a few days after Aenerya turned fifteen, Aenerya would prove Ciaran’s words true during a training exercise Aenerya and Ornstein’s son, Vaegal, were going through. 

***

Standing twenty paces away, spear clutched tightly within his grasp, stood Vaegal, grinning at Aenerya. Both he and her were in the traditional Silver Knight armor, though Vaegal found it rather cumbersome and flashy for his liking. Despite being in a helmet, the stance he held and his body language indicated that his signature troublemaking smirk was hidden under, and was radiating energy. He made a short jab at Aenerya with the spear, moving slightly to the right of the training arena they stood in.

Sensing the smirk Aenerya knew that her friend had, she rolled her hidden eyes and swiftly parried the incoming spear with her own little smirk. “Come now Vaegal, you really think that would work?” 

Vaegal’s strike was knocked to the side, though his grin did not drop as he quickly hopped back. “Ah c’mon, a parry this early? I didn’t realize that you wanted rid of me that quickly, Aenerya.” Assuming a more defensive stance now, he glanced back to see his father watching with his arms crossed, giving a small wave to him. “Hi dad!”

Aenerya watched her friend and mentally face-palmed,  _ Always such a goof. It’s no wonder he’s my best friend.  _ Aenerya watched as he turned to his father, her rather stern uncle, and took the opportunity to bring her friend back into the training arena. “Hey idiot! Think fast!” She smirked as she rushed and prepared a shield bash.

Turning just in time to see Aenerya’s oncoming shield bash, Vaegal quickly jumped up, mimicking a move his father was well known for, driving the spear down in towards her in a swift move, though with much less force than his father would use. “Low blow, low blow. Trying to bash me when I’m saying hi to my dad? Downright rude.” His tone was joking, the grin on his face clearly growing as his father facepalmed lightly.

Letting out a short laugh, Aenerya’s own smirk soon grew into a smile, “I have to get your mind back in the fight somehow,” She informed him as she leapt out of the way of the incoming strike. “Besides, what kind of friend would I be if I  **_DIDN’T_ ** do such a thing?” 

Laughing loudly, Vaegal landed with a small amount of dust rising from where he landed. “Yeah, yeah. You got me there. Hey Uncle Arf  _ (Artorias) _ ! Didn’t you and Dad used to do something similar all the time when you two were younger?” He made another jab, this time darting to the side as he did.

Aenerya heard her father chuckle as she dodged the incoming spear once more before lashing out with her beautifully slender straight sword, a weapon that she both enjoyed using yet also felt awkward within her hands. Despite being raised around the weaponry of the Silver Knights, Aenerya found that none of the weapons really suited her but her father had been keen on her learning to use  **_ALL_ ** forms of weapons as “one would never know” and her mother, who had been standing nearby at the time, had agreed. “Indeed, though it was more your father than I who did such things.”

Ornstein gave a small groan, a light hearted glare thrown in his direction. “Oh, don’t go filling his head with such notions, Artorias. You’ll inflate his already big head.” A small cry of indignation was heard from Vaegal, making him chuckle as he observed the duel once more. The spear was an elegant weapon, one that Vaegal was most familiar with, but he had also insisted upon using other weapons as well. His second choice would be a strange one, as not many used the style, duel swords. Many had thought that the silver knight blades would be difficult for him to wield in such a way, until he demonstrated his speed with them firsthand. Raising up the hilt of the spear to intercept the strike coming towards himself, Vaegal grinned as it held together, though the shock from the blow was still felt in his arms.

Artorias smirked towards Ornstein then, “Hard to fill your son’s head with notions, when such notions are true, old friend.” Aenerya barely, just barely, held back her laugh as she leapt away from Vaegal to put some distance between them, a distance that Vaegal would need to fill since his spear was unlikely to reach where she now stood with shield raised and gaze locked onto him. 

Aenerya felt the sudden need to goad her friend into attacking but thought better of it as she watched his movements carefully, “What was that noise, Vae, sounded like a dying cat.” she couldn’t resist “poking” the Lion Knight’s cub and smirked as Vaegal’s gaze locked with hers.

Vaegal’s stance shifted, his face shifting to a smile rather than his trademark grin, a small glare sent towards Aenerya. “Oh? Should I bring up that you sound like a whimpering pup sometimes?” He rushed forwards, almost gliding across the floor.

“Just because something is true does not mean he needs to know, Artorias. Do you remember how much trouble we used to get up to before we were knights?” Ornstein responded in kind, keeping his eyes on the duel for the moment.

“All too well, Ornstein, But most of it was caused by you if memory serves me correctly,” Artorias responded as he returned his gaze to watching Vaegal and Aenerya. While he and Ornstein were watching their children face off, Artorias remained well aware that they were not the only ones as several off-duty Silver Knights were also lingering around to watch as Vaegal and Aenerya faced off against one another. 

Aenerya sighed as she watched her friend come flying towards her and smirked before suddenly kicking up some dirt and dodging the incoming spear tip. “Charging are we? And as for your remark about me being a whimpering pup, need I remind you of that one time when we were younger and you nearly cried your eyes out at a tiny paper cut?” She goaded her friend.

Vaegal jumped to the side, chuckling again. “Even lions have their weak moments, I admit. I might remind you in return of the time where you cried out after I lightly poked you with a stick. Something about how I mortally wounded you? We weren’t even striking with enough force to leave a small bruise.” He did not rise to the bait, aware that she was goading him to get a rise out and make him a bit more reckless. “We’ve done this back and forth so many times, and it always ends in a stalemate. Let’s face it, we both can act pretty ridiculous.”

“You’ll never let me live those times down, will you Artorias? We were much more reckless back then, and you know it.” Ornstein let out an amused chuckle, the familiar banter the two settled in to almost mirroring what their children were doing.

“No, I will not. But as Aenerya said to Vaegal, “What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t do such a thing”?” Artorias inquired as he witnessed Aenerya leap behind Vaegal. 

“Indeed we can,” Aenerya agreed with Vaegal before suddenly kicking out to try and knock her friend onto his stomach. “But even then, what would we do if we didn’t act this way? I believe life would be boring, don’t you agree?” 

Vaegal stumbled a bit from the kick, but caught himself before he fell, sweeping his leg out to try and trip Aenerya. “Oh, life would be much more boring, especially around the city. I’m pretty sure almost everyone knows when we’re up to something now, especially Dad and Uncle Arf. We keep them on their toes.”

“The two of them have improved much over these past few years, wouldn’t you agree Artorias? Vaegal is not as reckless with his combat, and Aenerya had gotten better with keeping her foes at a distance and keeping herself mobile.” Ornstein observed, glancing over to the fastly developing crowd that were now observing the two.

“Indeed, even though I still don’t exactly approve of her training with Vaegal. I will admit your instincts on the matter have proven correct.” Artorias remembered back to when Aenerya and Vaegal had started their training and smiled at seeing how far the two had come even though he knew they still had a long way to go before being anywhere near ready to take on beasts such as dragons or any other animal that required more than one experienced Knight, Silver or otherwise, to fell. 

“Considering the shit we pull when their backs are turned? It’s no surprise to me that our fathers keep such a close watch on us even when one or both have to be away.” Aenerya told her friend as she nimbly jumped over Vaegal’s sweeping leg and once more lashed out with her sword. 

Vaegal quickly back stepped away from the strike once he pulled his leg back, letting out another laugh. Glancing behind him, he saw the growing crowd watching him and Aenerya. “It appears we’ve drawn quite a crowd. Shall we show them what we’re capable of?” 

Ornstein raised an eyebrow at his son’s comment, watching carefully as he recognized the tone he was using. “What do you think they’re plotting down there, Artorias?”

Artorias glanced between both Vaegal and Aenerya before looking towards the crowd, “Knowing them? They are likely planning something we wouldn’t expect of them, or at least that’s what they believe. As to what exactly, well we will just have to see.” Artorias responded to Ornstein’s inquiry. 

Aenerya gave a quick glance around and smirked, “We were waiting? Had I known that I would have “Prepared” better.” She smirked towards Vaegal who recognized the smirk upon her face. “Shall we?” 

“Hang on one second.” Setting his spear to the side on the rack, Vaegal grabbed two barbed straight swords, walking back to stand across from Aenerya with a grin. “Alright, I’ll wait for you to get ready then.”

Ornstein’s eyes narrowed as he watched Vaegal grab the barbed straight swords he had been training with. He watched the two, concern beginning to build within him. He glanced over to Artorias, a simple question clearly being asked. “Did you know about this?”

Artorias almost missed the question as he stood straighter than usual as he too watched Vaegal’s strange move. “No and it concerns me,” Artorias replied as he watched Aenerya now.  _ What are they doing?  _ He wondered as Aenerya smirked. 

Turning, Aenerya walked away to replace her shield and sword to their proper places before looking towards a particular Silver Knight. “Ledo! See that greatsword leaning against the wall?” She inquired as she pointed in the direction of the weapon that the spoken of Silver Knight turned to. “Toss it my way will you please?” She inquired as the Silver Knight nodded before lifting the weapon and tossed it her way for her to catch. “Thank you.” She told him as she caught the weapon with ease.  _ This feels so much better.  _ “Alright. Shall we dance?” She inquired as she somehow easily lifted the greatsword with just her right hand and caressed the flat of the blade with her free hand. 

“Yes, we shall. I’m certain we’ve gotten everyone’s attention now.” Vaegal slipped one foot back, holding his swords behind him at the ready, the clear grin on his face huge. His stance was rather unorthodox, and his lack of defense was rather concerning for Ornstein, almost making him want to step in to stop whatever was about to happen.

“I would have to agree,” Aenerya smirked as she felt Artorias’s eyes lock onto her and wondered just how much difficulty he was having with holding back his fatherly instinct to protect her. Watching Vaegal, Aenerya gave herself a moment before suddenly rushing forward and slashed outwards upon approaching him, the blade creating a whistling sound as it cut through the air. 

Artorias looked to Ornstein then and saw his concern mirrored within the Lion Knight as they watched their children do whatever it was they were now doing. “Ornstein?” The name came from Artorias in a worried tone as he glanced from the two in the arena to the Lion Knight beside him. 

Vaegal jumped over Aenerya’s strike, landing behind her and quickly slashing in an X fashion, the strike coming quickly and with terrifying precision. While most others would be worried that he was going to hurt Aenerya, Vaegal trusted in her ability to dodge and counterattack before his strike could properly connect.

Ornstein gripped the railing above where he watched the two continue their impromptu duel, one which was making him more and more nervous. The others watching were chatting among themselves, surprised at the speed and combat style the two had taken, most completely unprepared for such a turn of events. “This is making me even more worried.. Did they have this planned the entire time?”

A soft laugh sounded from behind the two powerful knights and both turned to see none other then Ciaran walking up from wherever she had been hiding, “Leave them be, your children know what they are doing.” She smiled as she moved to stand beside Artorias and allowed her gaze to fall upon Vaegal and Aenerya. 

Aenerya, for her part, watched Vaegal’s incoming attack and swiftly dodged despite the extra weight of the greatsword she held, and soon lashed out with her counterattack as she turned upon her foot and spun around in a complete circle in the attempt to force Vaegal to retreat or leap over her once more. 

Stepping back quickly, Vaegal chuckled as the spinning strike came close to hitting him. “Ha! I knew you’d go for the spin! You love that move.” He slid his two barbed swords against each other, crossing his arms in an X in front of him. “Your move once more.”

Ornstein sighed, keeping his eye on the duel. “Even so, it doesn’t stop me from being worried. One of them could slip up.” Though, he did smile upon glancing back, recognizing the X pattern his son kept utilizing. “I suppose you are correct, as you tend to always be, Ciaran.”

Ciaran snorted in a most unlady-like fashion, “I am always right when it comes to the children. I have been around them as long as both of you have and I know that they will be fine. Maybe a bit bruised up after this duel, but they will be fine.”

Artorias frowned but gave no argument,  _ Ciaran is correct. Somehow a mother’s instincts are always able to tell when a child is about to be harmed. If she says they will be alright, then they will be alright.  _ A huff sounded from below him and he glanced down to see his constant companion, the wolf known to all as Sif, watching the two dueling below with eyes never tearing away though every once in a while the wolf’s right ear flicked as if a fly was bothering her. “Sif?” Another huff but still the young she-wolf never tore her gaze away from Aenerya and Vaegal. Turning back to the duel, Artorias returned to watching his daughter as she smirked towards Vaegal. 

“Of course I love that move, just as I know you love the move you are making now,” Aenerya smirked as she prepared to block and then dodge the incoming attack.

Vaegal charged forward, slashing out as he moved, twisting the blades around and swinging once more. The move was one that Vaegal had worked on perfecting for quite some time, with some minor tweaks he created himself. “Hey, I gave the move its own spin. Naturally, I’d use it often.”

“Very true,” Aenerya laughed as she blocked the attack before swiftly leaping back to put some distance between her and Vaegal. Glancing up towards their parents, Aenerya noted that Ciaran had finally revealed herself, but it was Sif who was watching her with a never faltering gaze. Lowering her voice, Aenerya spoke so only Vaegal could hear her as she leapt forward to lock her blade with both of his, after giving him the small signal that they had come up with in case she needed to lower her voice for some reason.  _ “Apparently Sif is not too happy with this.” _

Vaegal chuckled, turning his gaze to Sif for a moment. “ _ Of course she would not be happy. You’re her pup, and she sees it fit to protect you much like your father. To see us duel is most likely tortuous for her. I might get mauled by her after if I manage to so much as nick you.”  _ He held the bladelock for a bit more, his grin clearly back.

Chuckling softly in return, Aenerya broke the bladelock as she leapt back and slid across the ground as she held the blade level with her face as she used a hand to slow herself as the fingers of her left hand dug into the dirt. “Shall we give everyone an encore then? Don’t want to waste too much energy. We  **_DO_ ** have other things to accomplish before the sun sets.” 

Vaegal laughed softly, doing a quick backflip to put a bit more distance between the two of them. “Alright, one last showing then. Make it count. I’m certain we’ve already  _ baffled _ them plenty.” Changing his style slightly, he held one blade near his chin, the other down lower near his chest in a S like fashion.

Everyone watching the two were now to the point of holding their collective breaths, everyone except Sif, who tensed up as she watched with sharp golden eyes. Aenerya could feel the burning sensation of the wolf’s gaze as it flicked between her and Vaegal, but only smirked. “That’s a bit of an understatement don’t you think?” Aenerya inquired as she tensed up before suddenly rushing forth like a spring that was finally loosened after being held tightly for too long. Gripping the hilt of her greatsword, Aenerya readied herself for what would likely be the loudest clashing of metal on metal as well as the strongest (and most tingling sensation) recoiling vibration she would ever feel. Swinging the weapon from left to right, Aenerya waited for Vaegal’s blades to clash with hers (which would likely kick a  **_LOT_ ** of dirt up in a cloud of dust). 

Vaegal hopped up, swirling his two blades down to meet Aenerya’s strike head on, the clashing of metal resulting in a loud clang, one which caused shock to run up Vaegal’s arms, nearly making them go numb from the force. The dust that was kicked up from the collision of blades alone obscured the two temporarily, the two powerful strikes sending Vaegal crashing onto his back, a shit-eating grin on his face. “Whoo! That was  **_AWESOME!_ ** We actually pulled it off!”

After having been sent flying from the collision, Aenerya found herself slowly sitting up from where she lay, her arms numb from the power behind the collision, and her own grin was revealed due to the fact that the landing she had had, had actually managed to knock her helm off her head. “Don’t get too cocky there, Vae, we might not ever be able to do that again.” She responded as some of her shoulder-length ebony colored hair fell into her face and obscured one of her bright blue eyes. “We should save that for when we really need it, damn i can’t feel my arms right now. But I do agree that that was awesome and you know you are likely to be mauled by Sif soon right? Once she’s done with making sure that I’m not injured, that is.” Aenerya asked as she remained sitting only this time she was resting an arm on her right knee and her head fell as she panted.  _ Note to self: having the wind knocked out of me is not fun.  _ She laughed softly. 

"Oh, I know for sure that big mama wolf is gonna maul me, but I'll sneak her some food as an apology. You and I both know she'll forgive me, Aen. And yeah, I definitely agree we should save that one for emergencies. Can't feel my arms. Pretty sure I broke my helmet too." Vaegal's helmet lay behind him, the wings broken off and the part of the helm that took the impact partially caved in. A slight headache and a couple bruises already forming were the only major damages he had suffered, and the soreness that would come tomorrow.  _ Damn, that move is a lot more powerful than I remember. Maybe we put too much power in this time? _

"You better," Aenerya smiled as she looked towards her friend whose hair was the color of fire with eyes the color of his father's golden armor. "Else she will never forgive you," Aenerya forced herself to stand and walked over to her friend who remained collapsed. "Might want to take your helm to the Giant Blacksmith for repair. Otherwise, Uncle Ornstein will be pissed with a capital "P"," Aenerya offered her hand to her friend to hoist him up and smiled down at him. "Might also want to go see one of the healers. Gods know you and I could both use a healing miracle or two after that." 

Artorias was shocked into stunned silence with eyes wide. Looking towards Ornstein and Ciaran he noted that both seemed to be as shocked as he was as the two below spoke as Aenerya stood to help Vaegal up. "You both saw that as well right?" The moment he asked that Sif leapt up and  **_raced_ ** down to check on Aenerya as well as Vaegal despite the fact that the she-wolf would snarl disapprovingly at him. 

Vaegal sat up slowly, giving a sheepish smile to Sif and grabbing his nearly destroyed helmet. "I'm sorry mama wolf, I know you entrusted your pup to me. I promise it was only for training, I would never hurt Aen." He grimaced slightly, his fiery red hair that was held in a ponytail in slight disarray. His golden eyes, which matched the color of his father Ornstein's armor, shined with mirth as he shifted a bit to try and stand.

Ornstein was still overcoming his shock from seeing the duel, the two of them clearly having been training more than he or Artorias knew about. "Yes, yes I most definitely did. That was.." He still seemed to be trying to get over the shock of the moment, most of the spectators just as speechless. In the back, his arms crossed and looking at Vaegal, was Havel the Bishop, giving the boy a nod. Had  _ Havel  _ known about this, but not him?

Sif gave a huffed out growl towards Vaegal before turning to Aenerya who leaned down to allow the she-wolf to check her over. "I'm alright, see mama wolf," Aenerya told the concerned wolf who sniffed at Aenerya to make sure that Aenerya was alright. Upon being satisfied with her findings, Sif sat down and refused to move until Aenerya went to grab her helm and returned to the wolf another disapproving huff sounding as Sif watched the two she was with speak in "normal" tones of voices. "Well she didn't maul you, but I would work on the food bit you spoke of."

Above them still, Ciaran herself was silenced into utter disbelief. She had seen many things in her life but what had just happened took the cake.  _ Who taught them that and WHEN did they have the chance for extra training to learn such a thing? _ She wondered as she glanced towards Ornstein only to notice that Artorias was on the move. "Artorias?" 

"There is someone I must speak with. That power...that ability...they used was not a normal ability." Artorias spoke up as he paused briefly. "Make sure that Aenerya gets back home and gets to her studies. I will return when I can." With that Artorias left and Ciaran looked to Ornstein. 

Ornstein's gaze was still over at Havel, who had clapped lightly as the two began to walk out of the arena, the grin on Vaegal's face not faltering. "I also have someone I need to speak to, a certain uncle of my son who appears to have known about this little plan and ability the two possess. Perhaps he could also shed some light on who has been training them. I should not be long, but can you keep an eye on Vaegal for a moment? I would ask Gough, but I am uncertain if he is here at the moment." 

Vaegal had begun to head out of the arena side by side with Aenerya, his sheepish smile still decorating his face. Near the exit stood Havel, dressed in his armor as he always was and lightly clapping. "Well done you two. You've improved immensely. I don't think I've seen you two fight like that before. Certainly an improvement over begging me to borrow my hammer." Havel's tone was light, and it was clear he was smiling under his large helm. While he was bitter enemies with Seath, the pale drake who fancied himself as Aenerya's uncle, he treated her as he did Vaegal, acting as an uncle for both of them.

"Thanks Uncle Havel. That means a lot coming from you." Vaegal grinned, setting his two swords back onto the rack he had grabbed them from quickly.  _ Oh, I know Dad's furious right now, and I bet Uncle Arf is too. Maybe we should've kept that secret for a bit longer?  _ He turned to Aenerya, the concern clear in his eyes as he whispered to her. " _ I think our dads are furious right now. _ "

"That would be an understatement in and of itself." Aeneryra replied back as calmly as possible, "Here comes Uncle Ornstein now." She pointed towards the direction she saw the Lion Knight coming from and soon felt Sif push on her leg. Looking to the wolf, Aenerya got the clue that it was time to get the fuck out of there and turned to Havel. "Before I leave, thank you for being willing to put up with me and thank you for the lessons." She told the man before her before feeling Sif push against her again. "Vaegal, why don't you come to find me in the main hall of the home our families share later, possible a little bit before sunset? I'm taking a cue from Sif and getting out of here. Now." With that Aenerya soon left before she was cornered by Ciaran who waved Vaegal over as Aenerya left to head home to begin this day's studies.

“Ah shoot. I’ll talk to you later, Uncle Havel, Aunt Cici’s ( _ Ciaran)  _ waving me over. Pretty sure Dad’s on his way over to interrogate you as well.” Vaegal quickly rushed over to Ciaran, passing by Ornstein and giving him a grin. “Hey Dad!” 

Ornstein shook his head as Vaegal rushed past him, a small smile coming to his face despite his anger. He approached Havel, crossing his arms and giving him a stern glare. “Would you care to explain exactly how you knew about what was going on today, Bishop Havel?”

Letting out a small chuckle, Havel clasped his hand on Ornstein’s shoulder. “Why, I would think it is a simple answer. The two came to me to ask to train, and I complied. With my armor, they had no risk of harming me, and it gave them time to experiment with the weapons they had chosen to wield. Something about keeping it a surprise until the right moment? Who was I to spoil their fun? No one is hurt.”

Ciaran watched Ornstein and Havel speak, unknown to Ornstein Ciaran also knew about what Vaegal and Aenerya had been doing, she always knew what the two were up to as it was hard to escape those who were the Lord’s Blades. While she didn’t exactly approve of Vaegal’s and Aenerya’s timing on using what they had been learning, she knew they would have used it sooner or later and she would rather them use it now in a place where, had it gone, both would have been immediately attended to by the healers always present instead of upon the battlefield where things could have gone horribly wrong should they have used it with no healers around. “Don’t you think the timing on that move you two pulled was a bit too early, Vaegal?” Ciaran inquired as she turned her more stern gaze upon the boy. 

“Well, we might have done it a bit early, but we both agreed to do it. We’ve been itching to show it off, and we actually managed to pull it off right this time! Neither of us were hurt.. Much.. Besides, it was awesome!” Vaegal couldn’t help but grin, rocking back on his heels. His helmet was resting under his arm, the damage made much clearer to Ciaran now that he was closer.

Ciaran closed her eyes and sighed towards the boy, “One of these days, you two are going to get into trouble no one will be able to get you out of, but this time I will let this pass. I’d rather you two have done that now where had either of you been hurt too badly you could be tended to by the healers then somewhere where no healers were present.” Ciaran looked him over, “Come let us get your helm to the blacksmith and you to the healers so you can be looked over. Aenerya should be there by now.” Turning on her heel, Ciaran began walking away and shook her head despite the smile that lingered on her face.


	3. Two

After dropping his helmet off at the giant blacksmith, Vaegal arrived at the main hall of home, his grin having not faded. He spotted Aenerya sitting at a table nearby and plopped down in a chair across from her, having removed the silver knight armor and changing into a simple robe and pants. “Phew, feels good to be in something comfortable again. The armor is a bit too heavy for my liking. What did I miss?”

Aenerya chuckled as she continued to write, she had arrived sometime before her friend and had started on the studies one of Seath’s Channelers had dropped off for her to work on. Despite the fact that sorceries were not one of her strong suits, she still had a great interest in the spells that Seath approved for her to learn, and she had learned a few sorceries that were often helpful when she didn’t want anyone to know where she was at. “You haven’t missed much outside of my father giving me one of his usual lectures about safety and the like before allowing me to delve into my studies.” Aenerya too had changed into something more comfortable, but unlike her friend who was hiding something from his father, she wore a simple black leather outfit designed for when she wanted to sneak around at night to avoid detection (which didn’t always work as the Silver Knights had wised up to her sneaky ways).

“Oh yeah, I got the full lecture from my dad about how reckless I was, and how I need to be more careful when it comes to combat. Honestly, I think he still views me as a little boy who couldn’t even lift a spear at times. I love him, but you and I clearly can take care of ourselves now. At least Ciaran knows that, but she did give me a bit of an earful herself about being careful.” Vaegal set a heavy looking tome on the table, one with the familiar seal of Izalith. “Planning on doing some sneaking around?”

Aenerya glanced up at her friend with a smirk, “When  _ DON’T _ I plan on doing some sneaking around? I found a new path into the main kitchens and I heard a rumor that one of the cooks made us some pastries that one of us will have to sneak in to grab.” She informed him as she returned to working on whatever she was writing down as she heard Vaegal flip the pages of his tome. 

Vaegal’s grin stretched further as he found the page he was looking for in his time, firestorm. “Fair, fair. We’re gonna have to try that path out soon then, especially if the cooks are encouraging us. They’ve always been good sports about our mischief. Do you remember the time they hid us in the cabinets as our fathers came looking for us after supper?”

Aenerya almost,  _ almost _ , broke out in loud laughter. “I do remember it very well, but it was worth it” Aenerya shook her head. “Sadly there is a slight issue. In order for me  _ TO _ get to the path, I have to pass by at least four Silver Knights, two guarding the door that leads the way to the path and the other two patrolling around, and we both know that they have wised up to our antics.” 

“Hmm.. What if we used a distraction? Most of the Silver Knights on duty near the end of the day tend to be bored or not paying too much attention. We could throw one of the coins that was a gift from Allfather Lloyd. Sure, it’d be a bit risky, but it might buy us some time to slip by.” Vaegal took out a piece of parchment, taking a few notes on it for study and reference. One hand rested on his chin and he glanced up at the ceiling, a telltale sign he was thinking of a complex plan.

“That might work, but so would this,” Aenerya lifted up the parchment she had been working on and turned it towards her friend, “It’s called Aural Decoy. A plain and simple sorcery but it’s enough to cause a bit more of a distraction. It would just need to be followed up by an Alluring Skull, or a few, to keep the Silver Knights away long enough for one of us to grab the pastries and get out before they return.” Aenerya told him as she looked towards the tome she was looking through before flipping the page of the book carefully. 

“Are you sure you can hold that up for that long? Not to doubt your abilities, but I don’t want you to strain yourself just to get into the kitchens. Remember last time you overexerted yourself with a sorcery?” Vaegal raised an eyebrow, though he did agree with the use of the alluring skulls, as they were relatively harmless distraction tools. He idly twirled his quill, having set it off his parchment and onto the cloth he used to clean it.

“I appreciate the concern, Vae, but my Uncle Seath  **_IS_ ** cautious in what sorceries he gives to me to practice with. That last time was a lesson for not only me, but for him and the Channelers as well. He didn’t exactly forbid me from using  **_THAT_ ** particular spell again, he did say that it would be wiser to wait until I have a bit better of a master over the sorceries besides, with the casting of one little Aural Decoy I won’t over exert myself. Now if I casted hidden body AND Hush after it right away then I wouldn’t be doing it, but last night I was gifted this ring,” She held up a new ring that she was sure Vaegal had yet to see, “from one of the Channelers, from Uncle Seath of course, and it silences any sounds my leather armor will make. Therefore using one Aural Decoy with a Hidden body spell cast right after won’t bother me too much. It will just be the Alluring Skulls that will be needed to keep the Silver Knights away while I get in and grab our treats.” 

“I can carry the Alluring Skulls, I’ll just have to change into my darker robes or armor. The armor sticks out less, so most likely the armor. I’ll throw the Alluring Skulls from a distance, then duck out so they don’t see me, then you sneak by into the entrance. Hey, isn’t Hidden Body one of the sorceries created in Oolacile? How’d your Uncle Seath get a hold of a copy of it?” Vaegal got up for a moment, cracking open a chest nearby which contained a small stash of Alluring Skulls and a few other items one could use for pranks. Naturally, to conceal the pranking supplies, plenty of other items were in the chest, such as old clothes, a few coins from Allfather Lloyd, an old piece of parchment which was Vaegal’s work from a month ago, and a few other items as well.

“It is, however you and I both know how he likely got it. It’s called the Channelers.” Aenerya responded as she took the parchment back and dried it off carefully with a bit of sand before rolling it up and sticking it within her bag she kept close. “We will have to wait until dark though. I still have to tend to Cerdic in the stables after all.” Cerdic was the name of Aenerya’s beloved gelding whose coloration was unique even among the horses of Lordran. His mane, tail and “socks” near his hooves were white as snow while his body and hooves were black as night and the only person he would allow to ride upon him was Aenerya. Vaegal had certainly tried, Aenerya had witnessed that failure, but only Aenerya could ride the gelding with no issue. 

“Ah yeah, Cerdic definitely needs some care. You’re the only one who can do it anyways. I’ll get some food for Sif, and take care of Star. I’ve been told she’s getting cranky once again.” Star was Vaegal’s own horse, who was a bright silver with a few white spots on her. She was relatively calm around him and Aenerya, but she tended to get upset if he didn’t come to see her often.

“We should probably go riding sometime, I’m sure both Cedric and Star could use it,” Aenerya frowned as she looked out the window, “We still have a while before dark and I’ve been  _ itching _ to go riding for a while now.” And that was the truth. Aenerya  **_LOVED_ ** riding Cerdic and if she could drag Vaegal into a lengthy ride to pass the time she would. 

“Alright, sounds like a plan. I’ll get changed to prepare for tonight, then I’ll meet you at the stables. Sounds good?” Vaegal enjoyed riding almost as much as Aenerya, but didn’t tend to be able to do it much anymore due to Ornstein’s more strict ruleset. Star had of course gotten more aggressive the longer Ornstein did not let him ride on her, so he gave him one day where he could spend it riding.

“Sounds good with me, I will find a way to get Star ready for you to put on her equipment and I will get Cerdic ready as well. See you down there,” Aenerya said as she stood from where she was sitting and began to head out, Sif hot on her heels. Due to Sif’s presence alone, anyone who saw Aenerya heading towards the stables knew that the ride that she and Vaegal would be going on was a genuine ride. Minus the fact that neither of the children would put their horses in danger due to how much they adored their beloved horses, Sif’s presence usually signaled that neither had plans to do anything stupid since it was Sif who would always prevent them from doing anything she deemed stupid and, after the earlier duel, it was doubtful Sif would let Aenerya out of her sight anytime soon, not that the daughter of the Wolf Knight minded one bit. 

Ciaran watched as Aenerya and Sif headed towards the stables and frowned. She didn’t mind that the children would be going off to ride, it was always good to see them caring for their mounts, but a bad feeling was settling in her gut and she wondered just what was about to happen this afternoon.  _ Somethings not right. Keep them safe Sif. I will go seek out Ornstein and Artorias just in case my feeling should prove right.  _ And with that thought, she disappeared to go find the Lion and the Wolf Knights.


	4. Three

Vaegal arrived in the stables after a few minutes, a bunch of food for Sif in his arms. He was dressed in similar attire to Aenerya, though his had a bit of chainmail worked in for better protection. He gave Sif the food to start eating as he carefully brushed Star, who snorted softly and nuzzled him. “Yeah, I missed you too girl. Don’t be too mad with Dad, he just wants to protect me.” He turned his attention to Aenerya, smiling as Star lightly nudged him. “Well, are we ready to head out?”

Aenerya looked towards Vaegal as Sif finished her meal, “I’ve been ready, I was just waiting on you.” She told him as she leapt up into the saddle that rested upon Cerdic, who snorted before rearing only slightly as both he and Aenerya waited for Vaegal to mount up. “Shall we take the usual path?” She inquired as Sif stood to await Vaegal.

Vaegal quickly hopped up onto Star, petting her neck softly as she snorted once more. “Yup, the usual path won’t take us too long, and still give us plenty of space to ride. You have your dagger just in case, right? I know you don’t usually use them, but as your father would say, ‘Always be prepared for any situation’.”

“I do, I also have my catalyst as well.” She told him as she moved Cerdic towards the entrance to the stables and pointed his head towards the path. “You have your flame too right?” She inquired as she heard him moving Star to follow somewhat alongside her and Cerdic as they began to travel onto the path with Sif between the two. 

Vaegal ignited a small flame in his hand and quickly covered it for the moment. “Yup, my flame’s still with me. Haven’t lost my touch.” He smiled, enjoying feeling the open air as he rode on Star. It had been almost a month now since he had last gotten to ride Star, and even longer since he and Aenerya had gone down their usual path.

Aenerya smiled as they guided their mounts towards the path which they soon arrived at and began walking their horses down the path. As their horses walked Aenerya began to hum a song she remembered her father singing to her when she was younger, of course it was absentmindedly she was doing so and didn’t realize she was doing it until she heard Vaegal comment upon it. “Pardon?”

“I was asking if that was the song your father sang. I sorta recognized the tune, but I wanted to check.” Vaegal had a book he was reading as he gripped Star’s reigns. He had stopped momentarily to look up at Aenerya, curiosity dancing in his eyes.

“It is, my father would sing that to me to help put me to sleep when I was younger especially the nights where he and Sif had to leave to go out on patrol.” She smiled fondly as she remembered how much trouble she had used to have sleeping when she was younger. It had been nearly impossible to get her to fall asleep until Sif had curled around her one night and allowed Aenerya to sleep wrapped up within her warmth, a move that had led to everyone referring to Sif as Aenerya’s “mama wolf” as it was that moment that Sif’s mothering instincts had kicked in. It hadn’t been a month later that Artorias had also figured out that there was a particular lullaby he could sing for Aenerya to help her rest when he would have to leave with Sif to patrol around. 

“Oh yeah, you used to have a really difficult time sleeping if I remember. Though, most of the stuff from back then is starting to get really fuzzy for me. Dad says that’s normal, but I am a tiny bit worried I won’t be able to remember important details in the future, you know?” Vaegal smiled down at Sif, glancing back down to his book again as they continued down the familiar path. “Say, what do you think the future holds?”

“It is a normal thing. But then again, I don’t remember really anything outside a few things from back then. It’s surprising how quickly our childhood passed us by…” Aenerya frowned as she returned her gaze to the path ahead, “As for the future, only the Four Kings could know and even then they can only see certain events. Personally I think it will be a bit boring for us until at least our twenties. That’s when my dad said he would take me out hunting for my first dragon.” 

“If there’s any left by the time we’re in the twenties, that is. I feel like that’s Uncle Arf’s elaborate plan there, to allow you to hunt for your first ‘dragon’ when all that remains is drakes. But hey, who knows? We’ve always found a way to break the usual patterns, perhaps we’ll do so again in the future. Best thing we can do now is to keep training and practicing our different schools of magic, there’s still plenty for both of us to learn.” Vaegal grinned, the thought of finally being able to use the more complex pyromancies with ease his dream. “Just imagine what we could become capable of if we keep our studies up!”

Aenerya laughed then, “There will still be dragons, they will just be harder to find. It’s why the outposts were built after all. To keep watch for the winged beasts.” Aenerya was eager for a hunt like that. There were times where she even daydreamed about her first dragon kill and making both her father and Uncle Ornstein (one of whom was **_KNOWN_ ** as the Dragon Slayer) proud. “If we keep up in both our training and studies we will likely be more powerful than our parents before us.” She closed her eyes but snapped them open when the sound of a roar echoed all around them, causing their horses to pause. “What the?” 

“You know, I don’t want to find out what made that sound. We should turn back.” Vaegal looked nervous as the roar echoed, closing his book and quickly putting it away in his satchel upon his back. The roar was one that he remembered his father describing, the roar of a beast they had just been discussing. They would have no chance on their current ground to deal with such a beast, and help was quite a ways away. Scanning the area quickly, Vaegal searched for an area they could move to if the beast arrived at their location.

“Agreed,” Aenerya nodded as she prepared herself in case the source of that roar should appear. Granted if that roar belonged to what she believed it to belong too, not even their horses could outrun such a beast and the only prayer of hope they would have of escaping it was to find **_SOMEWHERE_ ** it’s flames could not touch. “Vae, I just remembered something. We are in a forest and it hasn’t rained in several months.” 

“Shit. We have to move then. **_FAST._ **There’s no telling when whatever that is shows up. Our horses should put some distance between it and us.” Vaegal spurred Star, getting ready to ride off quickly. “Are you ready? If we can move quick enough, we might be able to get close enough to the city to not get caught in flames.”

Another roar ripped through the air and was extremely close now, but as Aenerya prepared to spur Cerdic into a gallop, a blast of fire came from the sky and set the path (and several trees) behind them ablaze, causing both horses to panic and rear, **_“TOO LATE!”_ ** Aenerya cried out as she turned Cedric towards the way they had originally been going only to realize that that path was blocked as well. _“Oh shit.”_

***

As the roar sounded through the city of Anor Londo, many immediately recognized the sound. Ornstein, who had been walking with Artorias and Ciaran, took off without a word, his spear already in his hands. _That roar could have only come from one place. Vaegal and Aenerya are out there, I have to get there fast. There’s one place I can think they went to, and if they are trapped, I need to be there soon!_ Ornstein arrived in the stables, seeing that both Star and Cerdric were missing. Quickly spurring one of the other horses in the nearby stables, he took off with record speed down the path that he knew the two loved to ride.

Artorias was hot on Ornstein’s heels and was soon also mounted up and racing towards the path that their offspring loved to ride through, but even from here he could see the blazing flames that the dragon had unleashed. While his need to reach the children was through the roof he also knew that Sif would attempt to keep the two as safe as possible. **_“ORNSTEIN! THE FLAMES WILL BE BLOCKING OUR PATH!”_ ** He hollered out towards the Lion Knight. 

Ciaran, for her part, was calling for the Silver Knights who were moving swiftly when a familiar form flew by her. “Havel?”

Ornstein growled, as he knew Artorias was right. _Damnit, I cannot just stand here and let them get hurt!_ “ **_FORGET THE FLAMES! WE WILL HAVE TO JUMP!_ **”

Havel looked to Ciaran as he rushed by, attempting to catch up with the two Knight who had already taken off. “Don’t look so confused, Ciaran. My niece and nephew are in danger, and I’ll be damned if I stand around and do nothing. I may be slower than the others, but no little fire is going to stop me.” He quickly saddled up on his own horse, a large and bulky one with a massive frame capable of handling Havel’s weight, a true war horse.

Ciaran watched as Havel and his horse took off and frowned before seeing a large group of Silver Knights moving out. _I need to get there as well,_ Looking towards the flames she felt her heart stop. _I won’t be able to make any form of jump through or even be able to pass through the flames. But I need to make sure my babies will be alright._ With that Ciaran leapt upon the back of her own horse and took off after the three that were already gone.

Artorias frowned but knew his friend was right. With the way the flames were swallowing the forest so quickly and rising, the mounts they rode wouldn’t be able to pass through. “ **_THEN WE WILL HAVE TO DO SO NOW! IF THE FLAMES GET ANY HIGHER NOT EVEN WE WILL BE ABLE TO JUMP THEM!_ **” Artorias hollered as he prepared to leap off the horses back.

Ornstein prepared himself to jump, crouching a bit on the back of his horse as they neared the wall of flame that was growing. “ **_GET READY!_ ** ” When the two were near to the point where they could begin to feel the heat from the flame, Ornstein hollered out once more. “ **_NOW_ **!” He jumped swiftly up, shooting over the wall of flame.

Havel, for his part, rode with speed only rivaled by Artorias and Ornstein only moments ago, arriving at the wall of flames only a few seconds after the two. Rather than jumping or trying something that might get him injured, Havel simply waded through the growing flames, his armor protecting him from getting scorched. “No dragon’s flame will stop me.”

Artorias leapt over at the same time as Ornstein but the moment both landed the familiar cry of Aenerya being injured sounded out and for a moment his heart stopped. “ **_AENERYA!_ **”


	5. Four

Vaegal nearly fell off Star as the dragon landed, having quickly scrambled off to allow himself more room to move about. Star took off, after a bit of hesitation and nudging Vaegal to follow. Glancing around, he saw that he and Aenerya were trapped, with no way to easily escape. Igniting the flame within him, a soft white glow encompassed both him and Aenerya as he casted Flash Sweat, a pyromancy designed to help protect better against fire. “Oh, this is not good..”

Aenerya leapt off of Cerdic and swiftly sent him away, the gelding whinnying as loudly as possible as he took off after Star.  _ Without our weights on them the horses might be able to escape. Though that barrier of fire might prevent them from getting far.  _ Aenerya looked back towards the dragon who snarled at them. “Vaegal, we might have to use some of our abilities just to keep ourselves from being harmed too much. This dragon won’t wait forever-!” Suddenly the dragon lashed out with its tail and Aenerya went flying into a tree forcing her to let out a cry of pain as a crack sounded from where she collided with the trunk of the tree.

“Aenerya!” Vaegal spun, turning his attention to the dragon with a small growl. “You damn creature!” He allowed his flame to grow within his palm, the dark red glow building in his hand as he launched a great chaos fireball at the dragon, though the effort of conjuring such a pyromancy burnt at his skin, leaving blisters and damaging the tissue and nerves. He grit his teeth as the fireball collided with the dragon, small pools of lava falling on to the dragon’s back. The pain in his hand was almost too much for him to feel any satisfaction from landing the fireball, and he stumbled slightly, a bit lightheaded from the energy it had taken.

The dragon roared in irritation and lashed out with it’s tail once more but was stopped mid-swing as a Heavy Great Soul Arrow collided with its head, causing it to roar in pain as Aenerya stood despite the pain she was in. She felt the dragon’s only good eye (it's only remaining eye as she had destroyed the other one with her spell) focused on her and felt herself nearly freeze up as the beast opened its jaws to unleash a gout of flame upon her.  _ Shit!  _ She had heard what would happen to anyone in the direct way of a dragon’s flame breath, she had listened in on the stories that the older Silver Knights often spoke of and knew that if she was caught in that blast, not even her bones would remain.  _ I need to move but I’m in too much pain.  _ Feeling someone collide with her Aenerya yelped out as she landed upon her side. 

Taking the moment of distraction that Aenerya provided, Vaegal drew his dagger. He moved towards the dragon carefully, watching as it began to rear its head back to breath fire at Aenerya. Luckily, he saw Sif collide with her to knock them both out of the way, and Vaegal sprung into action, jumping up and driving his dagger into the other eye of the dragon, stabbing it in deeply just as it had almost released its breath. He dropped down to the ground, letting out a small ”oomph” as he landed, turning away from the dragon momentarily to locate Aenerya.

Aenerya opened her eyes to look up and see Vaegal stab the dragon in the eye before landing heavily back on the ground.  **_“VAEGAL LOOK OUT!_ ** ” Aenerya cried out as the dragon roared before raising a clawed “hand” and lashed outwards to basically slap Vaegal into the trees. Watching as her friend went flying, Aenerya closed her eyes in rage and  **_KNEW_ ** that she would have to use the sorcery that Seath was adamant about her waiting to use.  _ Forgive me uncle Seath, I know you told me to wait but I need to get to Vaegal and this is the only spell that will buy me time to get to him.  _ Aenerya stood as Sif, who was standing with tail raised high and fangs bared towards the dragon with snarls seemingly never ending coming from her, stood in a protective stance. Focusing on her catalyst, Aenerya prayed that what she was about to do would not only distract the dragon but also weaken it a bit further and with eyes opening she unleashed a blast of crystal magic that looked to be almost like a sun spear, yet it was the blue of the sorceries born from Seath’s archives.  _ A Crystal Soul Spear. _ A roar sounded as the spear pierced through the dragon’s stone hard scales upon its neck and Aenerya swiftly rushed over to where Vaegal had landed.

Ornstein had landed just as Aenerya had fired off the Crystal Soul Spear, watching for a moment as the hard stone scales were pierced by the projectile. Allowing lightning to course through his spear, he charged forward at the clearly injured dragon, stabbing deeply through its skull using his dragonslayer cross spear. With the lightning coursing through, the dragon would be stunned, if the blow had not already killed it.

Vaegal was laying on his back, having been knocked into a tree on the other side of the dragon. Three long claw marks were visible, though his armor saved him from being too damaged by the first two marks, which were only surface level scratches. His face on the other hand, had not received the same treatment. A long cut ran down from his left eye, red and bleeding rather heavily. The cut on his face would clearly scar, and the flame that had been grasped in his hand was now out, though he was still breathing. He was breathing alright, and was clutching his hand in pain, as the scar tissue on his hand was clearly visible. “Aenerya? Is that you?” His voice was incredibly quiet, showing just how hurt he was. Even when he got injured, he would usually still have his grin and laugh things off, his voice loud and full of happiness.

“Yeah it’s me you dumbass,” She responded before hearing the sound of lighting and turned to see Ornstein suddenly appeared and slaughtered the dragon mercilessly. “Uncle Ornstein?” She inquired before another familiar form came rushing over to her as the pain from her injury suddenly rose back up to remind her that it was there. 

“Aenerya! Vaegal!” Aenerya turned to see Artorias rushing up towards them as Sif came rushing over as well. 

“Dad!” She couldn’t be happier to see her father then she was in that moment. “Vaegal needs help!” 

A moment later, Havel emerged from the pillar of fire near the horses, glancing over to see Ornstein rip his spear out of the dragon, which collapsed to the ground dead. He moved over to where Artorias, Aenerya, and Vaegal were all standing, a white talisman already clasped in his hands. “Hold him still, would you Artorias? He’s got bad cuts, scar tissue, and has already lost quite a bit of blood. I can heal the surface level wounds, but he’ll need a healer soon.”

Vaegal gave a small grin to Havel and Artorias, though he was clearly in pain. “Ah, c’mon. I’m not that bad, am I? I only got slapped by a dragon. All things considered, I’d say we’re pretty lucky.”

Ornstein approached a moment later, looking between Vaegal and Aenerya with clear concern. “You two should have told someone you were heading out. What if we wouldn’t have gotten here in time?”

Artorias looked to Ornstein then, “Ornstein, now is not the time to lecture them. Both of them need to be treated. We can lecture them later.” Artorias told his friend as he went to do as Havel had asked. 

Havel crouched down, muttering the words for the Miracle simply known as Heal, though changing the wording slightly so the miracle would heal Vaegal and Aenerya. The soothing golden light washed over the two of them, healing the minor cuts and helping to staunch Vaegal’s bleeding for the moment. “There, that should help until we can get them to the healers. Unfortunately, I am more of a battle caster than a healer, otherwise I would do more.” 

Ornstein carefully took Vaegal from Artorias, slinging his spear over his back for the moment. “You always find ways to get yourself into trouble, don’t you? We tell you two you have to wait to fight a dragon, and one finds you instead.” He shook his head, a small smile on his lips.

“You know me dad, I’m a trouble magnet. Both Aenerya and I are, and combined we’re explosive.” Vaegal’s voice was still a whisper, but his smile had fully returned as he rested in Ornstein’s arms.

Aenerya just looked towards her friend before hearing her father turn and, being especially careful, he lifted her into his arms. “How is he still able to crack jokes?” She wondered more to herself then to anyone but Artorias chuckled softly in response. 

“He is his father’s son,” Artorias smiled as he glanced down towards her. “Just like you are my child in all forms but rest now. I will try not to jostle you too much.” he told her as she closed her eyes, Sif’s familiar whining lulling Aenerya into darkness as the wolf circled around Artorias in worry for her pup.


	6. Five

_ 5 Years Later… _

Within the beautiful city of Anor Londo, home of the Gods, much had changed, While the streets were still full of laughter, the city still alive, there was a certain chaotic energy many had grown used to that was simply missing. The golden city was peaceful, watched over by the Silver Knights as it always had been, but there was no longer anyone sneaking around the grand city, no random pranks that would always end up targeting either Ornstein or Artorias, though they were never harmful. 

As many knew, the captain of the Silver Knights, Dragonslayer Ornstein, had appointed his son Vaegal as his second,the acting captain if he were ever away on a mission. The young lad had grown into the position after a bit, though was rather reluctant to take the position at first, for he had not wanted to have any special treatment simply for being Ornstein’s son. Perhaps had he been a normal swordsman, or had been a bit more arrogant, he would have never been considered for the position, as the post itself was one that had not been filled for many years. Yet, with his demonstrations of combat prowess and strategy on the battlefield, many began to see him as a great leader, one on par with Ornstein himself.

Standing on one of the many balconies overlooking the new Silver Knights in training, was Vaegal himself, absorbed deeply in thought. It had been five years ago now he had fought one of the last great dragons the city of Anor Londo had the honor to see, though the events had been blown out of proportion with time. Some of the new Silver Knights seemed to believe he had taken the dragon on alone, and had slain it without taking so much as a scratch in return. He had of course attempted to brush it off and explain that he had not been alone, but most did not seem to hear him. 

With his promotion to second captain of the Silver Knights, Vaegal’s father had a similar suit of armor forged for him similar to his own, but with a gold that matched his eyes and a dark red trim to match his hair. His father had also attempted to give him his own cross spear, but he had turned it down, preferring the large bastard sword on his back or his two barbed straight swords which rested at his hips. He rarely wore his helmet to his armor, instead preferring to talk to people face to face, and the scar that went down his face on the left side down over his eyelid was something he was not afraid to show. 

However, none of this was on his mind today. No, what ran through his head and occupied his thoughts was that he, as well as most of the city of Anor Londo, had received word that Aenerya would be returning to the city soon. To most, the name was one they knew well, as the stories of their second captain and his closest friend creating mischief and chaos was a favorite of many of the older knights. It was almost strange for them to be ordered around by the boy they had grown up watching over, and even stranger was how well he was able to lead others and remain serious when the need arised. Sure, his old grin was still ever present, and he always enjoyed a good joke, but he was no longer much like a child, having grown up much since the fateful day.

“I’m certain you’d be shocked to see me now, wouldn’t you Aenerya? Taking such a responsibility, and actually taking things seriously. I almost don’t believe it myself sometimes.” Glancing down, he saw the grey wolf he had been so familiar with for all these years, the one he always affectionately called mama wolf, Sif. She was laying not far away, her ears having perked up ever since the news had come that morning. Most of the people that knew Aenerya well were waiting with bated breath for when she would arrive, and none more so than Vaegal himself. “What do you think, Mama wolf? What adventures do you think she got up to without us?”

Sif only huffed back at him, but her ears worked as she listened for any signs that Aenerya had returned and soon shot up and disappeared upon hearing the signal that told them of Aenerya’s return.

***

Aenerya glanced up towards the place she was heading and frowned,  _ Apparently I was expected.  _ The end of the cloak she wore waved within the breeze that picked up and she smiled as she closed her eyes. While her own armor mimicked that of her father’s, minus the helm as she preferred a hooded cloak, the weapon, a greatsword that slightly looked like Artorias’s own greatsword, she carried upon her back and the shield that rested upon her back as well, screamed out just how much like the Wolf Knight she was. Opening her eyes she heard the familiar howl of a particular grey wolf and smiled as she watched the grey blur come flying towards her. “Mama Wolf!” She called out as the wolf collided with Aenerya, knocking the young woman on her ass as her arms wrapped around the excited wolf who whimpered and whined happily at seeing her pup again. But once Sif was done with licking Aenerya and pinning her to the ground several others had come racing up and one voice in particular captured Aenerya’s attention as she looked up to see none other then her old friend coming up. “Well look at you all fancied up.” She teased Vaegal. 

“Sure, if you call getting a copy of my father’s armor with a bit brighter shades fancied up.” Vaegal joked, his all too familiar grin spreading across his face. “It's one of the ‘perks’ of being the second captain of the guard here in Anor Londo. I get my orders directly from my father or our Lord himself.” A few of the silver knights who were training stopped to try and listen in on the conversation, only for Vaegal to pivot and look over to them with a disapproving glare, one reminiscent of the expression his father would toss at him those years ago. His tone shifted, becoming serious as he addressed the trainees. “Get back to your routines, recruits. I trust you can do so without supervision for a few moments. Or should I call Captain Ornstein over to watch you all instead?” The silver knights all shook their heads quickly, getting back to their training with renewed vigor. He turned his attention back to Aenerya, the grin on his face spreading. “Honestly, some of these recruits are worse at listening than you and I were.”

Aenerya chuckled, “Don’t be too hard on them, Vaegal, we used to be the same way.” She explained as she removed her hood to reveal that her black hair had grown longer in the time she had been away. But the thing she knew had caught his attention was the scar on her face running from one of her cheeks to the other and over the bridge of her nose. “But speaking of your father, where is he?” Aenerya inquired as she looked towards Vaegal.

“He’s currently in the middle of council with Lord Gwyn, he should be done in a few minutes. I would usually attend, but it is my turn to cover training for the new recruits. Trust me when I say I am going easy on them compared to my father.” Vaegal chuckled, running a gloved hand through his hair, which was up in a ponytail as he always kept it. “I see you’ve gone and gotten yourself some new scars. Care to share how? I’m certain there’s quite the story there.”

“This thing?” Aenerya reached up and touched her scar upon her face. “This is old, got it at least three to roughly four years ago. Life outside Lordran is surprisingly much more difficult than I had originally thought. Which, by the way, I am sorry if I made you worry when I suddenly disappeared without any form of warning or letter explaining why like I did. I just needed to get away from all this.” Aenerya apologized to Vaegal. “And to the story of my scars, they are very long and I wouldn’t have enough time in the world to explain.” She chuckled as the breeze picked up and moved her hair and cloak. 

“Really, you should be apologizing to everyone else, Aen. I forgave you the moment you disappeared. After all, I’m not your best friend for no reason. Poor Mama Wolf here was devastated without you, I’ve been keeping her company these past five years. Pretty sure she’s sick of me.” Vaegal joked once more, his grin shifting to a smile as he pulled Aenerya into a hug. “I did miss you though. It sucked not having you around, though I understand needing some space. Just next time, leave us a note at least? Not having my best friend, the true mastermind, the stealthy witch as I believe Ledo used to call you, around made life a lot more boring around here. The kitchen staff sure missed you too. Who were they going to make sweets and treats for late in the night?” 

Aenerya cracked up as she reached over to pet Sif, who was actually larger then she had been five years ago, “And I am sorry to my Mama Wolf for leaving but it’s quite apparent to me that she’s forgiven me the moment she saw me.” Sif snorted before licking Aenerya’s cheek with a gentle kiss. “I know when my father sees me he’s going to be upset and I will apologize to him, Mom and our other uncles later, But there’s a reason I came back and it’s not because I grew homesick.” Aenerya frowned as she sighed heavily. 

Picking up that the conversation was shifting towards more serious topics, Vaegal raised an eyebrow. “Is this something better discussed behind closed doors? After all, as grand as the city is, there are ears everywhere.” He gestured towards their old home, which looked a bit dimmer and less well kept than the last time Aenerya had seen the place.

“Yes it is, but that is why I asked where your father is, the news I bring...Well Lord Gwyn himself will want to hear what I have to say as well.” Aenerya turned from the building towards Vaegal. 

“Then this is more dire than I originally thought. Very well, follow me. I shall lead you to our Lord Gwyn’s throne, and you shall receive an audience with him. Your father will be present, I will tell you this now. Regardless of what news you might bring, don’t expect you can escape a conversation with him. He’s been the most affected by your disappearance.” Dismissing the Silver Knights and having the veterans escort the trainees to their quarters, Vaegal lead Aenerya through the streets of Anor Londo, to the bright palace of Lord Gwyn and the Royal Family. He spoke briefly to the guards outside the chambers to the throne room. “The Wolf Knight’s daughter has returned and requests an audience with our Lord. It is urgent.” The guards nodded, stepping out of the way as Vaegal opened the grand doors to the throne room.

Aenerya followed Vaegal through the doors and felt several pairs of eyes jump from him to her with one particular set falling and staying upon her.  _ Yes father, I’m back.  _ She thought though she dared not look away from where Lord Gwyn, the Lord of Sunlight and Anor Londo, sat upon his throne.

Vaegal approached the throne of Lord Gwyn, bowing before him and speaking in a respectful tone. “My Lord Gwyn, I have come to present one of our own we believed had been lost. The daughter of Wolf Knight Artorias, Aenerya, wishes to have an audience with you.”

Upon his throne, Lord Gwyn kept his eyes on Vaegal, who was still bowing before him. “Rise, Second Captain of the Silver Knights, Vaegal. I thank you for bringing her here in such a timely fashion. As I trust your judgement, I will hear her out and grant her this audience. Please, step aside and allow her to speak.” Vaegal rose up, stepping to the side to stand by his father’s side and Artorias, his gaze upon Aenerya. “You may approach and speak, Daughter of Wolf Knight Artorias, Aenerya. It has been quite some time since you have last been here.”

Aenerya was tempted to smile but only gave her Lord the proper respectful gestures. “I do not recall when I was last here my lord, but sadly, my visit this time is not one for pleasantries.” Aenerya told him as she kept a straight face, something Artorias knew was not normal for her unless the situation was worse then he believed it to be. “In fact that news I bring to you now is one I am unsure of how you will feel of…” And what she told all present next, shocked many into deathly silence.


	7. Six

Lord Gwyn’s face remained passive as he took in the information that Aenerya had revealed. “You are absolutely certain this was the case, young Aenerya? There has not been something of this caliber for quite some time.” His tone, much like his expression, was one of neutrality, not allowing any discomfort to be shown in front of his people.

“I am. I waited near what could only be described as a nesting ground for the beasts for several days watching them arrive in large groups before daring to come this way.” Aenerya replied calmly, what she wasn’t showing was the pain she was in from a fight she had gotten into with one of the “beasts” she spoke of which had clawed into her back leaving her wounded but she was sure that Lord Gwyn could sense the pain she was in without even trying. “I know better then to dare lie to you as I have heard the consequences of what can happen to those who do and thus have given the location of the nesting ground to an outpost closest to the nesting grounds.” 

A moment later, an out of breath Silver Knight with a familiar great hammer came rushing into the throne room. “Lord Gwyn! There is a large group of dragons sighted on the horizon! They are making their way to the city now!”

Lord Gwyn's attention shifted back to Aenerya. "Thank you Knight Ledo, you may get some rest. You will need it for the upcoming battle." Letting out a soft sigh, he rose from his throne. “I thank you young Aenerya for bringing this to our attention. We will be moving quickly and respond before they have a chance to harm our glorious city.”

Aenerya turned from Ledo, who she had not seen in five years (and he was apparently quite surprised to see her upon looking in her direction), back to Lord Gwyn. She wasn’t exactly sure how to respond but decided that she would pull a smart move and spoke, “Of course my Lord,” She nodded. “Once this threat has been dealt with I will give the exact location of the nest to whomever you feel it necessary to know the location of such a gathering of beasts.” 

Artorias frowned, he had caught the slight flinching motion she had made signaling that she was very likely injured somewhere upon her body yet also found himself proud that she was doing so well at trying to hide the wounds. But there was one thing Artorias knew and that was if he had spotted the flinch of pain so too had their Lord. _Did a dragon injure her?_ Artorias wondered before turning his attention back to Lord Gwyn who spoke up again.

“We shall prepare a defense, as we have the forces necessary to fight the oncoming horde of the beasts. Artorias, I entrust you to lead the swordsmen. Ornstein, you shall take over the spear division of the Silver Knights. Gough shall lead the archers, firing at the oncoming beasts to ground them. Vaegal, you shall help your father, but will lead your new division of knights. I will also need you to send a raven to Havel, as well as Izalith to inform them of what is happening. Now Aenerya, you need to get some rest. I can tell you are injured, and I will send a healer before we depart. My son and I shall meet you all by the nearest outpost. We cannot allow the dragons to reach the city.” Lord Gwyn dismissed the council that had formed.

Deciding it wise on her part to leave, Aenerya gave Lord Gwyn the proper respectful motions before turning and preparing to leave when she noticed Ledo standing and doing what could only be described as a double take as he looked her over. Out of all the Silver Knights he had been her favorite and despite how often he had grown irritated at the harmless pranks of her youth, he was the most lenient towards her and Vaegal when it had come (and came) to certain situations. “Long time no see Silver Knight Ledo,” She smiled as he studied her. Five years was a long time to be away and in those five years she had finished growing and had gained some interesting stories.

“Aenerya? Is that really you? My, you’ve grown quite a bit in the five years since your disappearance.” Ledo was clearly shocked, though he set his hammer down for the moment. “I was wondering why the city seemed to shine a bit more today. Seems the return of their favorite troublemaker helped the mood of this place, though I wish it was under better circumstances.”

Aenerya smiled slightly, “Been too quiet around here for you I take it?” She closed her eyes as everyone slowly filed out of the throne room with Gwyn disappearing to go hunt down his son. “I was surprised when I found out that you weren't hunting me down considering that you best know the world outside of Lordran.” She opened her eyes and looked to the Silver Knight whom she could tell had a smirk. “As for better circumstances, you know me well enough to know that wherever I go trouble seems to follow.” 

“Lord Gwyn has had many of us Silver Knights out on conquest, attempting to mop up the remaining threats in Lordran. Had I been given time to search for you, I certainly would have. Trust me, I remember well that you are a trouble magnet, especially you and Vaegal together, though he has gotten more serious over the years. Actually got himself a promotion.” Ledo chuckled, glancing over to Vaegal for a moment as he spoke.

“I am right here, you know. I can hear everything you two are saying.” Vaegal remarked as he passed by, a smile still on his face despite the circumstances. “Well, it appears I will get a chance to test my unit out in a true test of combat. Hopefully, I can keep the newer members from rushing in to try and claim glory. I’ll see you again when I return, Aenerya. We have a lot to catch up on.”

Aenerya smiled softly towards her friend as he passed by and shook her head. “I’ll be here for a while,” She remarked before looking down towards the ground and back up to watch Vaegal vanish. “ _But not forever..._ ” She softly commented to herself but Ledo caught it despite how quietly she had spoken.

The others in the room had departed, save for one who stood to the side waiting .“You’re not staying, then? When do you plan to leave? You’ve only just returned.” Ledo sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly as he heard Aenerya’s comment.

“No, I have no plans on staying. Had I not stumbled upon that nest of dragons I likely wouldn’t have returned at all for at least another few years,” Aenerya shook her head. “As for when I will leave again, it won’t be for a while. Cerdic needs at least a few weeks rest, the poor horse nearly killed himself trying to get me back here as quickly as possible, and I need to give the exact location of the nest itself to our Lord Gwyn when he calls for me to tell him of its location.” Aenerya told the Silver Knight. “That and I have several apologies I need to make while I am here and one of those is too you.”

“I presume the apology is for disappearing without a word to anyone?” Ledo picked his hammer up once more, glancing behind Aenerya at the person behind her waiting.

“Yes and I know my Father is behind me,” Aenerya smiled softly. “I’ll see you around Ledo,” She told the Silver Knight before turning to face her Father who stood with arms crossed and a frown upon his face. 

“Well, I will see you later. Bye for now!” Ledo quickly exited, stumbling a bit on the threshold, but disappearing from sight soon enough. 

***

Aenerya stood looking out over the lands, the forest that had been nearly destroyed five years ago was nearly fully grown back, though she was sure the trail was lost forever in the thick foliage she saw now. Closing her eyes as a breeze picked up, she listened for any signs that someone was coming her way but so far all was quiet. Her father had been quite literally pissed that she had disappeared without warning but he had also found it near impossible to stay that way at her and was just glad to see that she was back home and safe. After he had had some time with her, Aenerya had been led back to the home she had grown up in and was surprised to see that despite the overgrowth, nothing inside of the building had really changed. Not even her room. Opening her eyes, Aenerya thought back onto what had happened to her in the five years that she had been gone and the familiar sound of claws on tile had her smiling. “I was wondering where you disappeared to.” She spoke up as a wolven huff sounded behind her. “Yes, yes, new smells, new place. Gods forbid if you don’t get your sniffs.” Aenerya turned her gaze to her left to see a large black wolf walking up to sit beside her. “You know Sif is going to have a slight issue with you and I will have to explain your presence to my father right?” She spoke to the black wolf who only yawned in response. “Best get your sleep now, Raemarr, there is no telling when my father and the others will return.” She told the wolf who laid down and passed out at her feet as she returned her gaze to the outside world.

***

Several hours later and a long battle later, the forces of Lord Gwyn were returning to Anor Londo. The battle had gone much better than anyone had hoped, the dragons scattering and becoming disorganized rather quickly as the archers under Gough began picking them out of the sky. Vaegal groaned, plenty of new scars on his body and a few minor damages to his armor from the recent battle. While he was sore, he wanted to find where Aenerya had gone off to so they could talk, a smile forming on his face. _It’s great to have her back, however brief it might be._

Searching around the city a bit and inquiring with a few of the Silver Knights that had been left to protect the city, Vaegal quickly discovered where Aenerya had gone off to. Feeling a bit nervous, he walked to his old home, cracking the door a bit before opening it fully, a small chuckle escaping him as he set his cloak he had on to the side. “Well, I see you’ve gone and gotten yourself your own wolf in the period you’ve been gone.” He remarked, seeing Aenerya standing by the windows with her new wolf companion. “I’m glad you had someone to keep you company for those five years then.”

Aenerya let out a soft chuckle. “Raemarr chose me, not the other way around.” She replied as the dark wolf opened an eye to glance towards Vaegal before huffing and falling back into sleep. “And the story of how is nearly the same as my father’s, though my Father does not yet know about Raemarr or what I did yet.” 

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he was shocked at how much like him you have become. Though I’m more curious how Mama Wolf will react to meeting Raemarr here. You know how protective she is of you, and to see another wolf by your side. I honestly don’t know how she’d react.” Vaegal chuckled, setting his bag down as well as a small shriek seemed to fill the air. “Well, give me one moment. I have to deal with something.” He quickly shuffled out of the room into his old room, carefully closing the door behind him, strangely carrying a bit of raw meat.

Aenerya smirked though her gaze never left the outside world, “Seems I’m not the only one to have a new companion.” She shook her head as Raemarr, who had lifted his head up upon hearing the shriek, returned his head to the floor to fall back into sleep as the sun warmed him up. 

Vaegal re-entered the room a moment later, a small creature grasped in his hand, feeding small bits of raw meat to it. The creature was a strange dark blue, with small spiky-like skin, and let out short shrieks when it did not get the rest of the meat fast enough. “Well, shall we catch up a bit then? Hopefully this little one can keep her shrieks down for a bit.”

“She might if you feed her fast enough.” Aenerya remarked, still not turning away from the windows, she could see him within the reflection of the windows and thus had no need to turn around. “Who shall go first?” 

“Well, I do have a question to start off. Where did you go in these five years?” Vaegal finished feeding the meat to the creature, who snuggled up to him as he raised an eyebrow at Aenerya. “Feeling nostalgic staring out the window?”

Aenerya snorted. “Just looking out over the forest. It’s been five years since that fateful day that we encountered our first dragon. I’ve killed so many since I’ve been gone that that first one that we fought seems almost like a dream.” Aenerya smirked as she remembered that day. “As for where I went, I ventured beyond Lordran and into the kingdoms of the humans, made some friends, killed several lone dragons here and there, and just, in general, pulled a Ledo and explored around.” She told her friend as she pulled something from her belt to study it.

“You went on a world trip without me? Aenerya, I’m hurt. What about our secret ambition to conquer the world under a tide of pranks and sneaking, where we fought dragons daily and never had to follow rules?” Vaegal joked lightly, gently running a thumb along the head of the creature he held, which let out a soft chirp. “How was the world out there? Beyond the light of Lord Gwyn I mean.”

“Far more dangerous then you would believe,” Aenereya sighed as she shook her head. “Everywhere I went it seemed there was always some form of fight happening, be it dragons, bandits, thieves. You name it, I’ve seen it and then some. Even what those of the far eastern human kingdoms call “Oni”, which are just rampaging demons. I fought it all and have trophies from it all.” Aenerya smirked as she reached up to touch the scar on her face while being mindful of the stinging sensation in her back of her latest batch of scars.

“Certainly sounds like you’ve been up to plenty of adventures then. You know, had you said something to your father, he might have allowed you to do so without you having to do the disappearing act. If it weren’t for Ciaran, Dad, Sif, and I, he might’ve gone searching the entire world just for a word about you, getting in all sorts of trouble. You are his weak spot, after all.” The small creature in Vaegal’s arms stared at Aenerya with a suspicious glare, glancing up at Vaegal for a moment.

Aenerya sighed, “Even if I would have said something to my father, and trust me I did a few years before I simply vanished, he refused to hear of it. You should remember the stories Ledo came back with of the world outside Lordran. Fathers are far more protective of daughters then they are with sons most of the time. He would have never let me leave.” Aenerya finally turned from the window to go lean against the wall and look to her friend as she crossed her arms. “What’d you name her?” Aenerya nodded towards the drake who was looking back at her.

“Her name is Freya, as she has the piercing stare that could freeze even the Gods. I found her around two years ago while I was hunting a large blue dragon. Turns out, the dragon was a mother of five little drakes, but Freya here was left behind, near death. Sure, my father might be the Dragonslayer, and we have been at war with the dragons for years, but I couldn’t just let her die. I’ve been keeping her here for years now, and she tends to wind up in your old room when she gets to explore.” Vaegal smiled fondly, petting the drake once more as she rubbed her head against his chest, letting out another chirp.

Aenerya laughed softly, “That’s not surprising to me.” Aenerya would not yet approach Vaegal, she knew how to approach drakes. One of the friends she had made while out and about had been a drake rider and he had (rather happily much to her confusion) informed her of how to properly introduce herself to a young drake and that was by letting the drake come to her before anything else. Despite the fact that she had killed many dragons in her time away, she had learned that drakes and dragons raised by people often tended to **_NOT_ ** have the destructive habits of their predecessors and were more “tame” compared to their predecessors as well. “Well I guess it's a good thing a friend of mine was a drake rider. I won’t approach you or her unless she comes over to me first.” Studying the little drake, Aenerya smirked then, “She’s near that age of where she should soon be testing out her wings.”

“She already has been. When she starts flying about, she doesn’t like to come down, and ends up tiring herself out. I have to catch her a lot of times when she gets tired, since she tends to refuse to land.” Freya lightly slapped Vaegal with her tail, giving a small glare to him as he chuckled. “Oh don’t give me that look. You know it’s true.” Bristling slightly, she turned her attention back to Aenerya, observing her carefully. After a moment, she carefully stood up in Vaegal’s hands, jumping up and flapping her wings, flying carefully towards Aenerya to get a closer look at her. “You’ve got a million stories to tell with your travels, don’t you? I wish I would have had time to explore the world, but as Second Captain, I cannot usually leave the city unless I am sent out on a mission for our Lord. It gets quite boring after a while.”

Looking towards the young drake, Aenerya held out her arm for the little one to land on and smiled, “Hello there beautiful.” She told the creature before looking towards Vaegal, “Indeed I do and one of them you likely wouldn’t believe despite me saying that I have a drake rider for a friend.” Aenerya smirked. 

“It takes a lot for me to not believe something, Aenerya. Such as if you told me your father suddenly developed a deep love of theatre and was rehearsing in the house.” Vaegal chuckled, watching as Freya carefully landed on Aenerya’s arm, a puff of smoke coming from her nostrils.

“Well then, I guess you will have to be shown. But only after dark, it's the only time you will be able to see what I mean as I don’t want the outposts,the Silver Knights, Lord Gwyn or even our parents alerted to his presence.” Aenerya reached into a pouch at her side and pulled something out to give to the little drake. “This will help you out little one, Your daddy doesn’t really know how to care for you does he?” Aenerya promised as she gave the item to Freya. 

Freya carefully sniffed at what Aenerya offered her, tilting her head slightly at the question. “Ah c’mon, I think I’ve been doing a pretty good job taking care of her. She’s been hunting the small rodents that try to sneak into the house.” Vaegal chuckled.

Aenerya looked up towards him then and shook her head. “Rodents will only do so much for her and the meat you are giving her isn’t helping her growth.” Aenerya responded before looking towards Freya, “Sheep and goats are their prefered meats and trust me you will see why if you meet me after dark.” What Aenerya held was the meat of a sheep and she could see the sparkle in Freya’s eyes as the little drake watched the piece of meat carefully. 

“That little bit of meat was actually a snack I give her every day. She usually gets a large amount of goat meat for breakfast, and I have some for her at most times of the day. She has grown quite a bit, and I suspect she’ll be getting bigger.” Freya took a small bit of the sheep meat, her eyes sparkling a bit.

“A combination of both would be best for her.” Aenerya replied as she smiled down at the little drake. It was almost hard to believe that such a tiny creature could grow into a massive and ferocious beast, yet somehow it was possible and Aenerya knew that first hand. The creature she spoke of was one such beast, yet he was also unlike most other drakes. To where most were noisy and “talkative” he was quiet while still somehow being one of the most aggressive beasts towards anyone who dared to try and harm Aenerya.

Vaegal gave a short nod, watching as Freya snatched up the sheep meat and flew carefully back to him. She nibbled at the meat a bit more, getting comfortable on his shoulder. “I presume you have a Drake of your own then?”

“I do,” Aenerya nodded as she watched Freya munch on the meat. “But he’s a bit unusual. He looks like a drake in most ways but there are some key differences in his physical features.”

“You have a knack for unusual things, don’t you Aen?” Vaegal joked as he watched Freya scarf down the rest of the sheep meat. “Well, you just love food at any time of the day. Mind your manners, miss.” Freya burped in response, rubbing against Vaegal.

“Sounds like her daddy if you ask me,” Aenerya teased as she felt Vaegal look in her direction. “We probably shouldn’t linger too much longer. I still have apologies to make and Raemarr needs to be introduced to Sif before long.” 

“Alright, let me put Freya in her bed then. She’s starting to fall asleep on me.” Vaegal carefully carried Freya back to his room for a moment, setting her down on the place she had made as a nest, gently snuggling up to his hand for a moment before he slipped away. “Alright, let’s move on, shall we?”

“We shall,” Aenerya sighed as she whistled for Raemarr to begin following, “Let’s hope that Sif is accepting of Raemarr.” Aenerya hoped against hope itself.


	8. Seven

Aenerya looked towards Ornstein who was studying her carefully. While his stern gaze had always been unnerving, she wondered just how he was taking the apology she had given to him. Behind her Raemarr was upon his back tail tucked between his legs as Sif stood over him, so far Raemarr was proving to be smart and wasn’t going to mess with Sif but Artorias was watching the two wolves carefully. Sif, for her part, stood over the younger wolf and seemed content to keep her tail raised in the air as she studied Raemarr. “I am sorry Uncle Ornstein…” Aenerya spoke softly, gaze looking down towards the ground as she dare not meet her uncle’s eyes. 

Ornstein had held his stern look, not taking his eyes off Aenerya. While he had been rather upset to find that Aenerya had vanished without a word, he understood her need to go out and get away, as he and Artorias had done many times in their youth. The difference there had been that they had each other, while Aenerya had gone off on her own. He let out a small sigh, his stern demeanor dropping. “Alright, I forgive you Aenerya. Come here.” He held his arms out, a small smile clearly present under his helmet.

Aenerya went immediately to her Uncle with her own smile. Unlike Artorias who would hug her when it was needed, Ornstein had always been willing to show his affection. Pulling away after a moment, Aenerya turned to looked towards the wolves to see that Sif had finally allowed Raemarr to get up though the black wolf wisely kept his tail tucked close to show he was no threat but the voice that echoed throughout the room next had everyone turning to see Ciaran entering into the area. “Where is she?!” 

“Over here mom,” Aenerya called out in worry as she felt Ciaran’s eyes land on her before suddenly finding the older woman rushing over to pull her close. 

“What in the names of the Gods were you thinking?!” Ciaran inquired as they pulled away so Ciaran could look her over. 

Ornstein let out a soft chuckle, gently placing his hand on Ciaran’s shoulder. “She has only been back for a little Ciaran. I understand you might want to lecture her, but allow her to enjoy her time back. After all, now we all know that she is alright and alive.” 

Ciaran looked to Ornstein before turning back to Aenerya, “You are right Ornstein,” Ciaran sighed, “But I can’t help it. You had me beyond worried sick and not hearing anything about you was cause for great concern.” Artorias muttered something under his breath but it was apparent he was being ignored as no one commented on it. 

“I know and I’m sorry mom, it won’t happen again.” Aenerya promised as Ciaran hugged her close before releasing her once more. 

A loud chuckle filled the air from behind the small crowd of the reunited family. Ornstein didn’t even have to turn to know who was there, and gestured to Aenerya to look behind her.

Turning with a confused look upon her face, Aenerya soon spotted a familiar man and, for a moment, almost couldn’t hold back her excitement. “Uncle Havel!”

The familiar bishop of the Way of the White, Havel, chuckled once more as Aenerya finally noticed his presence. “Why hello little wolf. I have not seen you in quite some time. How was your world travelling?”

Aenerya smiled as the others in the room looked towards him, two with shock and another with suspicion. “It was...interesting…to say in the least.” 

“Oh, I’m certain. I received word from my homeland about a familiar traveler who came to learn about the culture and lifestyle of their kingdom. I’m certain you managed to avoid me somehow, as I arrived before you had left. You always did have skill using the shadows, little wolf.” At the moment, Havel was not holding his famed Dragon Tooth or his greatshield, both stored away for the moment. “Now, if you’re giving hugs to your family, might I ask my niece who I have not seen in person for years for one?”

Aenerya gladly complied with his request. Despite the stone armor he wore, he was always gentle. “Always.” She replied as they held each other for several moments. 

“I see you, much like your father, have acquired yourself a new companion. If my eyes do not fail me, you also have a few new scars. Perhaps much more than I would ever think you should have, but I see some are from a familiar source. Since you’ve seen the world, I presume you came into contact with the Drake riders?” Havel remarked, a clear smirk on his face.

Aenerya smiled until he mentioned the Drake riders, “I did. They were an…” Aenerya wasn’t exactly sure how to describe the Drake Riders. “Well… Interesting would not be the right word for it, but it was surprising to learn of them.” 

“They are good people, mostly. I remember their order from far before I came to Lordran to serve Lord Gwyn. Now, since I do not want to dig up your experiences in the outside world without your permission, I’ll stop with the prying questions. I am just happy to talk and see you once again, young wolf.” Havel sighed again, a bit of nostalgia hitting him.

“The same for you Uncle, Maybe later we can talk about what I learned?” She inquired hopefully as she watched him. 

“Of course, young wolf. I wouldn’t say no, as I want to hear all about your exploits in the world. I am certain you’ve made a name for yourself out there.” Havel nodded, turning his attention for a moment to Sif and Raemarr. “It appears the wolves are getting along. That is good.”

Artorias sighed, “For the moment they are. It may take some time before Sif is fully comfortable around the Black wolf.”

“Raemarr. His name is Raemarr.” Aenerya sighed as Artorias looked towards her. 

“Raemarr?” Artorias frowned with a brow raising.

“I named him for a friend I made in the outside world. A friend whose death I…” Aenerya went silent then and Artorias knew what she meant. 

“We will speak on that and other things later, Aenerya.” He promised knowing how Aenerya was when it came to deaths. 

Ornstein softly placed his hand on Aenerya’s shoulder, giving her an encouraging and supportive smile. “If you do not feel comfortable sharing such things with your father or I, I understand that entirely. You’ve always had a very independent spirit, and to simply know you are alright and to see you here is plenty for me.”

“It is hard to speak of but it’s also the reason behind why I have the scar on my face.” Aenerya spoke softly as she looked away from the gathered group. “Raemarr’s name came from my friend who lost his life in the fight against a red colored dragon.” 

Ornstein glanced over to Artorias to see how he reacted to the comment. “I am sorry to hear that, Aenerya. No one should lose a friend in such a way. Dragons are vicious creatures, as I’m certain you’re familiar with by now.”

“It’s…” Aenerya sighed as Artorias watched Aenerya worriedly. Losing a friend in such a way was surely to leave mental scars that no amount of healing could get rid of and he partially wondered if she had been sleeping well and though he couldn’t really see it he noticed that she **_DID_ ** look tired beyond what was surely to be normal for anyone who had traveled around like she had. “I am more familiar with it than I was,” Raemarr whined softly as he swiftly approached Aenerya and nudged her hand, earning her hand moving to touch his head as Sif also moved closer to her. “ But the red dragon… Nothing could have prepared me for just how aggressive it was. I remember the stories you all used to tell, but this…” Aenerya felt a shiver run down her spine yet resisted showing it. “We knew something wasn’t right...” Aenerya told them of being ambushed by the beast, of the ensuing battle, of how she had been scared by the dragon’s claws due to a reckless move she had pulled, of how she had watched her friend (whom everyone had just called Rae as he had never given out his true name) be burned to ash in front of her very own eyes before blacking out in a fit of rage and slaughtering the dragon before awakening from that strange state and collapsing near where Rae had once been her tears uncontrollable as the dragon had bled out behind her despite being dead. 

Artorias was speechless and he looked towards Ornstein, Ciaran and Havel, all of whom were looking towards Aenerya. The Wolf Knight couldn’t help but feel sorrow for his daughter and suddenly moved towards her and watched as she looked up towards him. He could see the tears she was fighting back lingering in her eyes and it broke his heart to see them. Reaching up he placed a hand gently on her cheek and watched as one tear managed to escape. Brushing it away with his thumb, he spoke softly then, “I am sorry you had to experience such heartbreak in such a horrid way.” Artorias told her before pulling her close and allowing her to bury her face into his chest despite his armor. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her tightly to him, though not so tightly as to cut off her air supply. Feeling her arms wrap around his torso, he rested his chin on her head and closed his eyes as he held her in his comforting embrace while Ornstein, Ciaran and Havel looked on.

***

Many hours later, when darkness had finally begun to settle over the beautiful city of Anor Londo, Vaegal found himself wandering the streets, dressed in black leather armor, his weapons still strapped to his sides and back. While many would recognize the weaponry, most would not ask where he was heading, for fear of interfering with something that the Second Captain may be pursuing, especially in such obscuring armor. Tucked safely in his cloak was Freya, whose head poked out slightly to look around at the different lights and absorb the smells of the city. Glancing around, he quickly left the city, heading past the first outpost on Star, having picked her up from the stables. He traveled to where he and Aenerya had discussed earlier, tying Star’s reigns to a nearby tree as he hopped down.

Aenerya stood smiling as she waited for Vaegal, “About damn time you showed up.” She said as she watched him walking up. “You might want to stop there. Krotho, will be appearing soon.” She told him as she watched Vaegal.

Vaegal gave a small nod, pulling out some goat meat and feeding it to Freya, who scarfed the meat down with vigor. “You eat more than Star on a good day, Freya. Though I’m not surprised at all.” He gently rubbed Freya’s crown, and she chirped happily, snuggling up and wrapping around his neck.

“She’s getting ready to grow again,” Aenerya smiled as she turned to look towards the distance before laughing. “And here is Krotho now.” Aenerya smirked as a large form flew over them with a softer sounding roar before suddenly landing before Aenerya, who smiled as she looked up towards her drake who purred towards her as she reached out to touch his muzzle.

Vaegal watched as Krotho landed, feeling slightly nervous due to his size. He was a sleek black color, with a slight blue coloration on his scales near and around his neck. From his looks, it was clear while he was a dragon, there was a clear point where parts of him had devolved into a drake, which clearly stood out to Vaegal. “Wow, he’s magnificent..” Freya glared daggers at Krotho from the safety of Vaegal’s neck, not wanting the larger dragon near Vaegal.

Aenerya smiled as she felt Krotho lift his muzzle away from her hand to look over towards Vaegal and Freya before he chuffed and returned his attention back to Aenerya. “Isn’t he?” Aenerya couldn’t help but comply with the dragon’s need for her to pet him. “He’s nothing like “true” dragons yet he’s not a “true” drake either,” Aenerya heard Krotho chuff as he opened his mouth slightly only to close it again as his sapphire blue eyes closed as she ran her hand along his nose. 

“Calm down Freya, he’s not here to hurt us.” Freya was still glaring at Krotho, bristling up as smoke came from her nostrils. She clearly did not like Krotho, but would not do anything unless he tried to harm Vaegal. “My goodness, you look so fierce there, little one.” He softly rubbed Freya’s head, making her coo slightly as she relaxed a bit, keeping her eye on Krotho.

Aenerya chuckled softly before she began to move towards Krotho’s shoulder, which the dragon lowered for her to be able to climb up to his back. Upon taking her usual place, she looked towards Vaegal and smiled. “You coming?” 

“Are you sure he’d be alright with that? I don’t want to be a burden for him.” Vaegal stated, though he did have a smile on his face. “After all, he’s only just met me.”

“He’ll be fine,” Aenerya smirked, “Besides, you're going to have to learn to ride a dragon sooner or later, and at least Krotho is large enough to catch you should you fall. Well… that and we probably shouldn’t keep the Son of our Lord Gwyn waiting.” 

“Oh, you know about that. Well, I guess it makes sense how you were encouraged then. He found out about Freya the first day I brought her back, nearly scared us both half to death. Since you’ve mentioned him though, I’ll hop on.” Vaegal carefully climbed onto Krotho’s back, glancing around for a moment. “Solid ground, I shall see you again soon.”

Aenerya chuckled as Vaegal sat behind her. “It won’t be that bad I promise.” She told him as Krotho waited until Vaegal was seated to stand to his full height once more. “Might want to wrap your arms around my waist else you will fall off.” She looked towards Vaegal as Krotho turned his head to also watch Vaegal. 

“Alright, though I have to keep an eye on little Freya here too.” Freya slipped down his neck back into the cloak pocket she had been in previously, snuggling into Vaegal’s warmth and ducking her head down. “Well, never mind. She figured it out on her own.” Vaegal carefully wrapped his arms around Aenerya’s waist. “I feel semi awkward here.”

Aenerya smirked as she turned back around to grab onto two small spikes upon Krotho’s neck. “Smart girl. And yes I know, trust me I know how that feels. Hang on.” She told Vaegal as Krotho crouched down slightly before leaping into the air and gave a powerful down-stroke of his blue membraned wings. 

Vaegal closed his eyes for a moment, the rush of the wind from Krotho’s wings reminding him of when Gwyn’s firstborn had first shown him his own drake, and he had ridden with him upon it. The rush had been exhilarating, and he had enjoyed himself during that time. Here, it was a bit different. He felt his all too familiar troublemaker smile return, one which tended to appear when he was with Aenerya. “I miss the feeling of being in the air, as strange as that is.”

In the distance, watching from a safe distance away, was Havel. He had followed Vaegal as he had left the city, under the guise he was heading out to do a brief patrol near the furthest outpost. “Why am I not surprised to find you are a drake rider, young wolf?” He chuckled, watching as Krotho took off. “You are lucky I am so familiar with keeping secrets. Have fun you two.”


	9. Eight

Glancing to the sky, far away from the prying eyes of the realm of Lordran, stood Gwyn’s Firstborn, the God of War who was known to the outside world as Faraam. He smiled to himself, gently running his hand along the spine of the Drake that stood next to him, a powerful beast known to the world as the King of Storms. The Drake Riders of a distant kingdom had come to learn the art of taming drakes through his careful instruction, though the art had existed long before he had ever arrived. 

Hearing heavy wing beats not far away, Faraam smiled, seeing the familiar form of Krotho approaching. “I see that they are finally arriving. What do you think of this, old friend?” The drake simply squawked in response, raising his head to watch as Krotho came near them. “Yes, I am aware of your concern. I’m certain that Aenerya made sure they were not seen or followed.”

Roaring as he drew closer, Krotho spotted the God of War and his drake and soon slowed his flight to land carefully near the young god. Aenerya waited until Krotho had landed and had lowered his shoulder for both Vaegal and Aenerya to get down. “I apologize for our tardiness, My Lord.” Aenerya apologized towards, “Someone wanted to doubt Krotho’s ability to be able to fly with both of us upon his back.” Aenerya shot a teasing look towards Vaegal. 

“Yes, yes. I apologize for doubting your dragon’s ability to fly. I’ve only even flown twice, cut me some slack!” Vaegal spoke in the background, slipping off Krotho carefully as Freya blew smoke at his nostrils.

“You need not worry about tardiness, Aenerya. I trust your judgement, and I’m certain it was quite a different experience for Vaegal from riding the King of Storms here.” Faraam let a deep chuckle escape him, softly petting the King of Storms with a fond smile. “I do hope my father’s forces were too ignorant to notice your absence. I’d rather not have the Silver Knights go on a long manhunt after you once more when we are here.”

“We were as far away from any outposts as possible, my Lord,” Aenerya said as she watched Vaegal finish getting down, “And if anyone did see us they were too well hidden for Krotho or me to spot them.” Aenerya frowned as Krotho stood again after she had dismounted with grace. “I see the project you are working on is growing ever closer to being finished,” Aenerya smiled as she looked to what would soon be Faraam’s domain. “How soon until we…?”

“It will still be some months before our forces are prepared. Unfortunately, I suspect that my father is catching on to what we are planning, as he has made it increasingly harder for those in his council to leave the city. Now, there is something we will need to address as our plans draw closer. The allegiance of Vaegal. He is of course close with many in the city, including your father and his own, yet I cannot risk him coming if he is not committed to our cause. I hate to ask this of you, but I need you to find out where he truly lies in this. I trust the lad, but I cannot risk loose ends.” Faraam spoke quietly, though sorrow was clearly in his tone. As he had never had children, he considered all those that had served alongside him in combat like his brothers and sisters, and a select few like his sons and daughters.

Aenerya looked towards Vaegal then as Krotho lifted his head higher than any of them stood. “Vaegal. I know you are my friend but know this, if you should choose our family…” Aenerya’s heart broke as she spoke with hope in her eyes, “I will return you to where we left but we will forever be on opposite sides and should you stand in my way when it is time, I will not hesitate.” Krotho growled low as if reaffirming her words.

Freya growled angrily, her glare shifting to Aenerya as she sensed Vaegal’s clear discomfort. He looked to the ground, his body language clearly conveying just how uncomfortable he was being in this position. When he finally looked up, he glanced between Faraam and Aenerya, a deep frown set upon his face. “You would turn against all the people you grew up with, even your father? Aen, you’ve only just gotten back after five years, and you’re asking me to turn my back on my family. How can I make such a decision?” A small fireball shot from Freya’s mouth, hitting the ground in front of Aenerya, though it did little to anything.

Aenerya nearly flinched but held true. “Vaegal, I’ve  **_SEEN_ ** the  **_WORLD_ ** and what is going on out there. I’ve fought things, seen things out there you couldn’t believe. That nesting ground of dragons? Those were  **_ROGUE_ ** dragons. Dragons who are nothing more than mindless beasts and needed to be put down. When my Lord came to me two years ago, he brought me to this place and offered me something I knew would be better for all. What my Lord wants to do is set things right, things that Gwyn will  **_NEVER_ ** bother with. I’ve never been happy with killing dragons who have never done anything to anyone and it pains me every time I do.” Aenerya told her longtime friend. “I don’t  **_want_ ** to turn against my friends, family and anyone else nor do I want to hurt them, but I will if I have to. Even my Father.”

Vaegal went quiet, his gaze upon Faraam. It was clear he was deep in thought, and was struggling to come to any sort of decision. “I need time.. Time to think. I can’t just throw everything away on a dime. I swore an oath to protect the people of Anor Londo, and I swore to stay by your father’s side and my father’s side until we stop drawing breath. To betray them.. I need time, as I said.” A slight glare was directed at Faraam as he spoke, his next words ones he had held onto for some time. “I put my faith into you, Faraam. I do hope you know that. You came to comfort me when I locked myself away, acting as a guiding mentor and pushing me to become Second Captain. Yet, now I stand here to hear that everything you filled my head with were lies.”

Faraam gave Vaegal a sad smile, gently placing his hand upon Vaegal’s shoulder, but his hand was quickly smacked away. “I understand. I will of course give you time to think over this, and I will give you three days to do so. I trust you will keep this secret, even if you choose to go against us.” Vaegal sighed, agreeing to that small condition.

Aenerya felt Krotho nudge her hand gently, he could sense her heartbreak and wanted to comfort her. Turning slightly, she looked to her dragon and began to pet him slowly. “I and Krotho will return Vaegal and Freya to where we left and then I shall return my Lord,” Aenerya spoke looking towards Faraam. “I am sure there is much you wish to discuss regarding certain things?” 

“Yes, though we will worry about such things after Vaegal has been returned safely. I wish you luck, Aenerya.” Faraam smiled softly, gently placing his hand on Aenerya. ”You are one of my most trusted drake riders. Good luck, and may the shadows keep you safe until you return.”

"And you as well, my Lord." Aenerya lowered her head in a slight bow before climbing back up on Krotho's back. "Come Vaegal. It is time to leave this place and return you home." Though she wasn't showing it, her heart was breaking as she wondered what decision her friend would come to, of course, that didn't mean that she wouldn't cry eventually but it would not be around the God of War or Vaegal.

Vaegal wordlessly climbed back onto the back of Krotho, his expression one that Aenerya had never seen upon his face, the face of depression and betrayal. It was clear this decision would haunt him, and regardless of what side he chose, something would happen to him. Finally, as Aenerya got onto Krotho to fly him back to Anor Londo, he pressed something into her palm. "Please, don't look at this until after I've made my choice." Desperation was in his voice, and whatever he had handed her was wrapped in a cloth, concealed.

Aenerya looked to the clothed item before pocketing it. "You have my word." Was all she responded as she gripped onto the spikes, "I will return as soon as I am able to, my Lord!" She called out as Krotho prepared to take off. Once she was sure that Vaegal was holding onto her, She tightened her grip upon the spikes and Krotho launched into the sky, but as he did Aenerya missed what Faraam said in response.

Vaegal stared off, his arms loosening for a moment before he corrected himself, though Aenerya could tell he was reluctant. It was clear that things between them would never be the same after today, regardless of what his final choice was. Freya, still sensing Vaegal's distress, attempted to cheer him up by nuzzling her head against him and letting out a soft squawk. He smiled down at her, but the smile was forced, devoid of his usual exuberance. It was almost terrifying just how large of a shift his personality had taken from this one event.

***

Krotho soon landed in the area they had originally left from to go speak with the Firstborn, and he lowered his shoulder for Vaegal to climb down. "If anyone asks where I went inform them that the Firstborn wished to speak to me in private and has taken me somewhere to discuss something he wished for me to see in the outside world," Aenerya told Vaegal as she looked to him briefly before turning away to try and hide her watering eyes. "Tell them that neither he nor I know when we will be back exactly but will return as soon as we are able." She did not look to him and knew that Vaegal would find that a bit odd.

Vaegal gave a simple nod, sliding off Krotho with ease. He had been dead silent the entire ride, the joy he had previously felt in the air crushed and burned to ash by the recent revelation. He walked over to Star, untying her from the tree carefully, but pausing as he saw a familiar figure standing not far away.

"So young wolf, care to tell me where you two went? I understand flying around for a bit, but I saw you leave the kingdom." Havel stood not too far away from the two, his arms crossed. Unlike before, his demeanor had changed, feeling a bit more hostile. If one looked close enough, they could see him gripping the Dragon Tooth he carried tightly, barely concealed anger in his tone. Vaegal regarded him blankly, which Havel noticed immediately. It was as though he had been hit with the ability even the gods had feared, lifedrain, yet he was still clearly alive.  _ What has happened to make you this way, nephew? _

Krotho back a foot up as Aenerya froze upon hearing Havel's voice. She knew better than to lie to him, yet the sight of the weapon in his hand brought fear into her heart for her dragon. _ I can't lie to him...but I need to return to the Firstborn… SHIT!  _ Aenerya was unsure of what to do in that moment. "We went to speak with Lord Gwyn's son. He wished to speak with Vaegal and I about a private matter." While it wasn't exactly a lie, it wasn't the full truth either. 

"Why would the Firstborn feel the need to speak with you both outside the kingdom? After all, he could speak to Vaegal at any time in Anor Londo. Unless.." Havel's voice trailed off, and he looked to Vaegal once more. "What did he say to Vaegal? He seems devoid of any emotion, as though he's had his world shattered." He stared at Aenerya, the stern attitude one she had never seen before from him, who was usually so calm and seemingly laid back.

Krotho was silent but his need for fight-or-flight was kicking in and his first thoughts would be flight as it would be needed to keep Aenerya safe. She was more than just his rider to him and he would protect her with his life if need be, but first he would take her somewhere safe. "I am not allowed to say," Aenerya spoke as she looked to Havel and met his eyes. "The Firstborn had me swear an oath not to say a word and I must keep it regardless of how I feel on the matter." She replied never looking away as she felt Krotho prepare himself for flight if Havel decided to attack, but Aenerya heard something that Krotho did not and removed a hand to touch the dragon, giving him a silent signal before suddenly dismounting, the landing, of course, causing her to clench her jaw as she fought back a whimper. "I know you're there, Uncle Ornstein." She called out as she looked towards the shadows as Krotho slowly began backing up towards the cliff. Closing her eyes, she knew the only way her dragon would be safe would be for him to leave without her as swiftly as possible. "And yes, it is what it looks like. I ride a dragon and have sided with them." She called out as she heard a gasp come from Vaegal at what she said next (signalling to her that he had returned to himself), "And I planned on betraying all of you. Including Lord Gwyn and his son the Firstborn." With a roar, Krotho took flight, with arrows just barely missing him as he roared once more, while Aenerya looked to the Lion Knight whose heart broke as he spoke words that would, come the dawn, see her in a cell.


	10. Nine

Artorias was pacing like a wild wolf trapped within a cage, and everyone who knew him knew that when he paced like he was, he was going to be aggressive towards anyone and everyone and the only person who could fully handle and counter his aggression was Ornstein. Ciaran watched the Wolf Knight pace and worried for him. "Artorias please, sit down. It will do no good for you to pace." 

" **_I don't care!_ ** " He stopped momentarily to snap at Ciaran who flinched back in shock at his tone. "Aenerya has done the worst thing possible and now she-!" It was then Ornstein decided that he had had enough of the Wolf Knight's unneeded aggression towards Ciaran.

" **_Artorias! Calm yourself!_ ** " Ornstein sighed loudly, gently placing his hand on Artorias's shoulder. "It will do you no good to snap at Ciaran. She is simply trying to get you to stop your needless pacing. What Aenerya chose has hurt us all. Snapping at each other will do us no good." 

Artorias studied Ornstein before sighing and moving to stand at the windows, a move that reminded them of Aenerya. "I know, but now it makes me wonder where I went wrong in raising her…" To see and hear the Wolf Knight go from angry pacing to standing still and in a depressed mood worried them all. His mood swings had usually been quick but when it came to matters dealing with Aenerya, his mood swings would either skyrocket or plummet unusually fast. 

Ciaran frowned as she watched Artorias move to stand at the window " _ Oh Artorias… _ " Ciaran whispered as she watched the Wolf Knight with sorrow in her eyes. Due to the fact that their Lord Gwyn, in their Lord's rage, had forbidden anyone from seeing Aenerya until the time of her trial (which was to be in a few hours), Ciaran had noticed that Artorias wasn't the only one in a truly worried state. 

Vaegal too seemed hurt and greatly worried by Aenerya's announcement, so much so that he sat staring at the door with unseeing eyes as he sat lost in thought. Ornstein was watching Artorias carefully, and Gough was whittling away at some wood, making a small carving of something remotely looking like a wolf or two. Sif, for her part, lay near the door with Raemarr and both seemed to be watching it, one giving soft whines in wonder as to why her pup had not yet returned, the other silent and watching with sorrow-filled eyes as he waited for Aenerya to return. Neither wolf really understanding that for all intents and purposes, Aenerya was likely not going to return for a long while, at least not unless she transgressed her sins in a way Lord Gwyn would deem fitting for her, though it was clear through the way the city was still reeling from the shock of Aenerya's words, Aenerya would forever been seen as a traitor and any and all relationships she had built up over the years would likely be broken with few ever truly forgiving her.

"Why would she do such a thing…?" Artorias wondered with unshed tears in his eyes as Ciaran returned her gaze to the Wolf Knight. But before she could speak, Gough, who had been sitting silently while whittling away at the wood, finally spoke up as the voice of reason.

“Hmm. It is much like her father’s choice to go against the world, is it not? There were no mistakes made in raising her, she is simply a free spirit. No one can control the spirit, and many find themselves in a place where they may stand against what others consider the normality.” Gough’s voice, calm as it always was, seemed to echo a bit, the shavings from his carvings surrounding him. “She will always be your daughter, Artorias. Even if she stands against you.”

Artorias looked to the one Aenerya had always referred to as “Uncle Gentle Giant” and watched as he placed the finished carving carefully upon the table. “But that does nothing to ease my heart. What she has done is unthinkable and I cannot understand why she would be so willing to turn herself in, let alone be willing to take whatever punishment our Lord has planned for her for even thinking of doing such a thing.” 

“Perhaps she has faith in the cause she now supports. I will be the first to admit that even our Lord can make mistakes. Seeing the outside world, and how different everything is out there, would certainly change anyone. My people know this best.” Gough grabbed another unfinished carving by his side, carefully working on shaping an image of a dragon’s heart, a symbol of ferocity. 

Artorias looked at the finished carving and noted that it looked exactly like an adult wolf with a pup with muzzle raised to its father’s. Tiny teeth bared as it went to nip at it’s father’s face as the father wolf seemed to be smiling down at his pup, pride clearly showing within the adult wolf’s eyes. He wasn’t sure what to say but something about the carving held his attention. 

“There is much to consider, and much to feel sorrow for. Yet, in a time like this, we must hold dear the memories we cherish, and not allow them to be tainted. I trust that Aenerya had a reason for what she chose, and even though it may stand against all of us, I support her decision. She is a free spirit, capable of making her own choices and judgement.” Gough lamented, the carving of the dragon heart shaping to have a small drake coiled around it protectively.

Artorias looked from the carving upon the table to Gough then before returning his gaze towards the carving upon the table as the memories of a child Aenerya popped up within his mind. Closing his eyes Artorias knew that Gough was right but her betrayal still hurt and felt like it cut deeply. Looking away from the carving that brought up so many memories of him watching Aenerya grow into the woman she was now, Artorias remembered the words Ciaran had spoken so long ago to him. 

_ “Don’t worry Artorias, she’s more like you then you know and I have a feeling that before long she will show you just how much like you she really is.”  _

Looking out the window, Artorias came to the shocking realization of just how right Ciaran was.  _ Ciaran was right all along...Aenerya is just like me, perhaps more so then I dared to realize.  _ A soft smile came to the Wolf Knight’s hidden face. He would never condone Aenerya’s actions, but realizing that she was so much like him made it easier for him to understand why she would so willing take a punishment for what she had planned. It was the same thing he would have done were he in her place.  _ My dear little pup, whatever shall I do with you?  _ He wondered as he closed his eyes. “While I won’t condone her actions, you are right Gough, and now all I can do is wait to see what our Lord will do to her.” Sif whined some more and this time Raemarr joined in causing Artorias to look towards the two wolves, gaze landing first on Sif then on Raemarr who seemed especially heartbroken. All those present except Vaegal and Gough looked to the black wolf who lay watching the door and Artorias frowned before moving to lean next to the wolf who never turned his gaze away from the door. Resting his hand upon the head of the wolf, Artorias began to pet Raemarr before speaking softly. “I know Raemarr, but hopefully soon she will be able to return to us.” But Artorias wasn’t so sure that his own hope would hold out as none could know what Lord Gwyn was thinking, all they could do was hope that Aenerya’s admittance to what she had been planning would lead to her punishment not being too severe come time for her trial. 

***

Within the large chamber of the throne room, Lord Gwyn looked down upon Aenerya, his children present in the Council he had brought together to judge her actions and determine her fate. "Today, Aenerya, Daughter of Wolf Knight Artorias, you stand accused of treason against the land of Lordran and it's people. How do you plead?" Many in the Council were silent, and Faraam himself was present at the trial. He briefly made eye contact with Aenerya, the message in his eyes clear.  _ Trust your instincts. _

Aenerya caught the look from Faraam but wisely chose not to show that she did, “I will not deny my actions, Lord Gwyn.” She replied calmly despite knowing that any move she made could likely result in death or injury should Gwyn call for the Silver Knights, which again reminded Artorias just how much like him she was.

"So you admit before the citizens of Anor Londo you are a traitor and willingly accept what will happen due to your actions?" Gwyn's face was stoic, but the look in his eyes made it painfully clear he did not want to have to do this. "You are aware of the consequences for such a betrayal?"

“I do and I am and I am willing to accept whatever punishment you give me. Be it a traitor’s death or even handing me over to the Executioner. I fear not death nor do I fear whatever things the Executioner would do to me.” Aenerya explained, her resolve as strong as the hardest stone. Even just the mention of the Executioner set several of those present shuddering or clenching their jaws (Silver Knights included).

"You have your father's bravery, young Aenerya. I will not dam you to such a barbaric death with the Executioner. For now, the Council will need to discuss your fate." As Gwyn finished his speech, silently Vaegal entered. He bowed to Gwyn, who seemed confused by his presence. "Second Captain Vaegal, for what reason are you here? You are not a part of the Council."

Vaegal stood, looking up to Lord Gwyn. "I apologize for intruding, Lord Gwyn. I simply came to offer a solution to the problem you are presented with." Lord Gwyn raised an eyebrow, waiting to hear him out. "I propose that Aenerya be put under watch by her father and I. Surely Lord Gwyn, you understand the want to give someone a second chance, and Artorias and I will keep watch over her."

Aenerya looked to her friend in confusion as murmurs and glances were cast between everyone.  _ What are you doing?  _ She wondered as she watched her long time friend.  _ Why are you trying to save me from whatever fate Gwyn would give to me?  _

Artorias frowned as he wondered what Vaegal was up to. No one in Lordran would ever trust Aenerya again unless she pulled a near death move to save someone of important rank, be it Lord Gwyn himself or one of his children. Glancing towards Ornstein, Artorias found himself in the midst of a “Deja Vu” and shook his head.  _ Was history repeating itself?  _ He wondered as a memory of a time long before he had found Aenerya as a baby came racing up. 

Lord Gwyn seemed to contemplate the option, scratching at his chin. "How can you be so sure this accommodation will work? After all, you may not always be present, same as her father. What then?" He questioned, gauging Vaegal's reaction as he crossed his arms.

"If the idea seems flawed and in need of more people included, you could also assign my father, Dragonslayer Ornstein, your Captain, to have patrols put up around a place of residency. I understand your concern and I am willing to change things to account for changes that you see fit to add." Vaegal replied smoothly, his face neutral and eyes like steel.

Faraam spoke up once the room had calmed down, glancing up to his father. "Father, this plan seems like it would work fine. Much like when the two were children, there will be constant vigilance. I too shall assist if the need arises." 

Aenerya looked to the Firstborn as he spoke, the confusion clear as day upon her face. Vaegal she would expect to pull something out of his ass as a last ditch effort, but to hear her Lord agreeing with the plan slightly shocked her.  _ My Lord?  _ She would never truly see Gwyn as her lord ever again due to what she had witnessed in the outside world, but his son would always be her Lord. 

" **_NO!_ ** " The room was stunned into silence with the fury contained in the one word spoken by Vaegal, who quickly reigned in his temper. "I apologize for my tone, but I do not believe that will be necessary, my Lord." Gwyn carefully eyed Vaegal, glancing at his son for a moment. He had never seen such fury in Vaegal before, and it was almost frightening how his anger came out. 

Faraam cast an apologetic look at Aenerya, attempting to make it look as though it were directed at Vaegal. The message to Aenerya was hard to decipher, but appeared to be along the lines of:  _ I intended to help you escape.  _ Clearing his throat slightly, the Firstborn smiled at Vaegal, simply nodding despite the reaction.

"You have not let me down before, Second Captain Vaegal. I trust your judgement on this matter, and should her father agree to the terms, I will allow this to temporarily work. Should things change however, do not expect me to be as lenient. Am I clear?" Vaegal nodded in response, and Lord Gwyn smiled.

Artorias was still confused but also nodded. “I agree to these terms.” Was the only thing that would come from the Wolf Knight at this moment. His heart, which felt like it had stopped during this trial, soon returned to a normal beating pattern, yet there was some dark feeling lurking in the back of his mind. Not pertaining to something stupid Aenerya would do but that History really was planning on repeating itself and that  **_something_ ** would happen between now and the future months. Something that would set all of Lordran on edge and likely result in a “redemption” for Aenerya. 

"Very well, both Knight Artorias and Second Captain Vaegal shall watch over Aenerya. So the Council decrees." No one had brought up an argument to Vaegal's solution, and thus the idea had gone unopposed. With Artorias agreeing, the lingering doubts people had were temporarily put at ease. "The Council is dismissed!"

Aenerya was lost as to what had just happened but regardless of how she felt or thought of her situation she would accept it, but she glanced towards Faraam before looking towards Vaegal.  _ You daft idiot... _ She thought as she wondered what was going through his mind.  _ Nothing you do or have me do will redeem me within the eyes of those who reside here.  _ Turning away for a brief moment she looked towards the windows and a thought came to her.  _ And I doubt that our friendship will ever be mended… _ She closed her blue eyes as footsteps approached her as everyone slowly began to file out of the room. 

"He may not be the greatest at everything, but it is hard to argue he is not fair. Perhaps one day, the world will be a better place for everyone, though the future is uncertain. It is no wonder he enraptured the people of Lordran. What do you think, Aenerya?" The clear voice of the Firstborn was gentle, though he was a ways back. Lord Gwyn and his other children had already left the chambers, leaving only Vaegal, Faraam, and Artorias in the distance. 

Aenerya tried (and failed miserably) to not smile but as she opened her eyes and turned to Faraam, she only nodded. “I believe so my Lord.” She replied as she took notice of the relief (and mirth) lingering within his eyes. 

Vaegal gave a harsh look to Faraam, one filled with the barely concealed rage that escaped earlier. "I believe you should leave,  _ Faraam.  _ You are welcome to talk with Aenerya at any time, of course, but I imagine her father would like to speak with her. So I ask that you please leave for the moment."

Nodding in understanding, Faraam paused for a moment near Vaegal, a sad smile upon his face. "I take it you've chosen your side then?" The only response was another sharp glare. "Remember, you have two days now Vaegal. Choose wisely."

Aenerya watched from where she stood but said nothing despite the fact that she clearly heard the words the Firstborn speaking. However Aenerya’s thoughts soon turned to a looming presence behind her and, had she been a wolf, her tail likely would have tucked with ears going flat as she felt the energy radiating from her father.  _ Oh shit… _ Turning she looked to her father and suddenly felt as if she were seven years old again. “Fa-father?” She inquired as she looked to the Wolf Knight who held a stern gaze. 

“Come with me.  **_Now_ ** .” There was no room for argument and she could feel the eyes of both Faraam and Vaegal upon her as she began to follow her father from the room. 

Both Faraam and Vaegal left the room, Vaegal to find his father, and Faraam to wander for a while. For the moment, it was best to leave Artorias and Aenerya to talk, as getting involved at the moment was a dangerously volatile situation.


End file.
